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GEORGE WASHINGTON 

From portrait by Rembrandt Peale, in the room of the Vice-President 
at the Capitol in Washington. By the friends and contemporaries 
of Washington this portrait was considered the best. On viewmg it 
for the first time John Marshall exclaimed: " It is more Washington 
himself than any portrait I have ever seen. " George Washington 
was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, February 22, 1732. 
Died at Mt. Vernon, December 14, 1799. 



AMERICAN HISTORY 
AND GOVERNMENT 



BY 

MATTHEW PAGE ANDREWS, M.A. 

AUTHOR OF "PEOPLE'S EDITION" OF THE CONSTITUTION. "HISTORY OF THE 

UNITED STATES," "A HERITAGE OF FREEDOM," "A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE 

UNITED STATES," "THE BIRTH OF AMERICA," A PLAY, ETC. 



142 ILLUSTRATIONS AND 18 BLACK AND WHITE MAPS IN 
TEXT. ALSO FRONTISPIECE AND 2 MAPS IN FULL COLOR 




PHILADELPHIA, LONDON, CHICAGO 
J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY 



■ I 



COPYRIGHT, 1 92 1, BY J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY 



PRINTED BY J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY 

AT THE WASHINGTON SQUARE PRESS 

PHILADELPHIA. U. S. A. 



m 18 1921 



KNOW THE PAST AND THOU CANST INTERPRET THE FUTURE. 

— Pittacus of Mitylene 

HISTORIE HATH TRIUMPHED OVER TIME, WHICH BESIDES IT 
NOTHING BUT ETERNITY HATH TRIUMPHED OVER. 

— Sir Walter Raleigh 

THOU THAT TEACHEST, TEACHE8T THOU NOT THYSELF ? 

— Ancient Proverb 



PREFACE 

In the writing of American liistor}^ certain things are 
to be striven for, while certain other things are to be 
avoided. A mere narrative of events is not in accord with 
the modem demand for an historical treatment which 
offers a far more extended discussion of social customs, of 
economic questions, of cause and eifect, and of things that 
concern the life of the people. 

On the other hand, this demand may be misinterpreted 
and the response of the historical writer may present the 
opposite extreme in the matter. Through sight and sound, 
the jDublic has never been offered so much action as in the 
present. The child also' demands action, and he should 
have it — in reasonable degrC'C. Through the interest 
aroused by action in narrative, he may be led almost un- 
consciously to a desire to know why that action occurred 
and what was, or is, the effect of it. Either extreme is 
likely to provoke an unfavorable reaction against any per- 
sistent, or persisting, love of historical reading — which 
for the mind and imagination, has, perhaps, unsurpassed 
cultural value. 

Some of the things to be avoided in the presentation of 
American history are provincialism, partisan prejudice, 
and sectionalism. The author of this volume has taken 
peculiar pains to submit to men and women of opposite 
sympathies Avliat may be called the ''mooted matters." 
Sometimes this was done by paragraphs, sometimes by 
topics, and in some instances, by chapters. Distinguished 
historians, as well as men and women prominent in public 



vi PREFACE 

life, have endorsed or approved those passag^es which 
present a new treatment or a different perspective 
and proportion. 

Again, the author of a brief history may gather and 
present all the essential facts, and yet may be far from 
securing an. arrangement of these facts which offers the 
greatest possible adherence to continuity, a basic law of 
composition. Hence, in historical narrative, the absence 
of interest is not infrequently due to the presence of dis- 
cursive material. On the other hand, the proper subor- 
dination of this discursive matter as frequently enhances 
the interest of the subject. Such a process of selection 
imposes a tenfold burden upon the author; but it shortens 
the volume; and, in the case of a textbook, relieves the 
pupil of unnecessary burdens, improves the chances of 
the teacher in arousing an interest in the subject, whilst 
greater opportunity is given to the teacher to suggest 
special reading on topics of interest or value in accord- 
ance with circumstances or conditions. 

M. P. A. 

February, 1921. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER PAGE 

I. Genesis of the United States 1 

II. Beginnings of New England ; 35 

III. Beginnings of the Middle Colonies, the Carolinas, and 

Georgia 64 

rV. A Century of Colonial Expansion 85 

V. Colonial Life and Customs Ill 

VI. Colonial Controversy with King and Parliament 130 

VII. The American Revolution, 1775-1783 156 

VIII. From Confederation to Federal Union 185 

IX. The Federalist Period Under the Constitution 199 

X. Era of Jeffersonian Democracy 219 

XI. The Jacksonian Epoch, 1829-1841; Rise of the West 259 

XII. Territorial Expansion and the Balance of Power, 1841-1860 269 

XIII. Economic and Social Review, 1800-1860 295 

XIV. Division and Reunion: 1860-1877 307 

XV. The Story of Our Own Times 366 

Contemporary Events 459 

APPENDIX A. Bibliographical Notes 468 

APPENDIX B. Declaration of Independence in Congress, July 

4, 1776 474 

APPENDIX C. Constitution of the United States 479 

APPENDIX D. Table of States and Territories 499 

APPENDIX E. The American's Creed 500 

APPENDIX F. Table of Presidents 501 

APPENDIX G. Covenant of League of Nations 502 

vii 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

George Washington, by Rembrandt Peale Frontispiece 

Sir Edwin Sandys 5 

Landing at Jamestown, 1607 9 

Signatures of Captain George Percy and Captain John Smith 13 

Statue of Pocahontas 18 

Cohimbus — from Painting in Marine Museum at Madrid 22 

Memorial to Christopher Cohimbus, Washington, D. C, Erected by 

Knights of Cohimbus 23 

Jamestown Church 30 

On the Mayflower, Provincetown Harbor, 1620 38 

Old Fort of the Puritans 43 

John Winthrop 44 

Autograph of Margaret Winthrop 46 

Roger Wilhams Sheltered by the Narragansetts 50 

Old Harvard College (from Etching by Paul Revere) 59 

Dutch Costumes of New Netherland 65 

New Amsterdam in 1667 66 

SkyUne of New York City from Governor's Island 66 

George Calvert 68 

Wnham Penn 72 

Penn's Treaty with the Indians 73 

General James Oglethorpe 78 

Indian Woman Weaving 83 

Indians Building a Canoe 83 

Indian Stone Implements 83 

Indian Quiver and Bow-case 83 

Opechancanough being borne in a Litter to Last Great Massacre of White 

Settlers in Virginia, 1644 86 

Meeting of Governor Berkeley and Nathaniel Bacon 89 

Indian Attack on Brookfield, Massachusetts 91 

Braddock's March 103 

The Heights of Abraham 105 

Costumes of French Settlers in America Ill 

Puritan Costumes 112 

Virginia Costumes 116 

Dutch Costumes of New Netherland 118 

A Foot-stove 119 

Tooth Extractor 121 

Title Page of Book of Quaint Verses, Owned by George Washington .... 123 

Title Page of Poems of Anne Bradstreet 124 

Conestoga Wagon 126 

ix 



X ILLUSTRATIONS 

Patrick Henry 140 

Tablet Erected to Commemorate the "Ladies' Tea Party" 142 

Henry Laurens 144 

John Hancock 146 

Samuel Adams 147 

British Retreat from Concord 148 

American Soldier in Uniform of Continental Army 149 

Daniel Morgan 160 

Benjamin Franklin 165 

Washington and Lafayette at Valley Forge 170 

George Rogers Clark 173 

Anthony Wayne 174 

John Paul Jones 175 

General Nathanael Green 177 

Battle of King's Mountain 178 

Robert Morris 190 

Alexander Hamilton 191 

Daniel Boone's Fort 194 

Martha Washington 200 

Inauguration of George Washington as Presented by the Constitutional 

League of America 201 

A Reception by Martha Washington 208 

Statue of Thomas Jefferson 219 

Washington in 1800 221 

An Ohio Flat-boat 224 

James Madison 227 

Commodore OUver H. Perry on Lake Erie During Naval Engagement 

September 10, 1813 231 

The Battle of New Orleans 235 

James Monroe 239 

John Quincy Adams 252 

Henry Clay 253 

Signature of John Adams in 1814 255 

Signature of Charles Francis Adams, 2d, 1914 256 

Transportation by Canal Boat 257 

Andrew Jackson 259 

John MarshaU 261 

John C. Calhoun 262 

Daniel Webster 263 

Martin Van Buren 265 

Peter Cooper's "Tom Thumb" in a Race with a Horse-drawn Coach on 

Parallel Tracks 266 

San Francisco in 1835 267 

William Henry Harrison 269 



ILLUSTRATIONS xi 

John Tyler 271 

Chicago in 1832 . . . 273 

James K. Polk _ 274 

Storming of the Fortress of Chapultepec, 1847 278 

Zachary Taylor 282 

Millard Filhnore 282 

Franklin Pierce 283 

James Buchanan 287 

The First Reaper as Invented by M'Cormick 296 

Matthew Fontaine Maury 298 

Nathaniel Hawthorne 302 

Edgar Allan Poe 302 

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 303 

Ralph Waldo Emerson 303 

W. H. Prescott 304 

A Battery Directed Against F'ort Sumter 309 

Jefferson Davis 312 

Abraham Lincoln 313 

The Monitor and the Virginia (Merrimac) 324 

George B. McClellan 326 

Robert E. Lee 328 

President Lincoln and His Cabinet Officers 331 

WiUiam T. Sherman 333 

Nathan B. Forrest 334 

Thomas J. (Stonewall) Jackson ,. 335 

George Gordon Meade ^ 336 

Battle of Gettysburg 337 

Philip H. Sheridan 342 

George Henry Thomas 346 

Andrew Johnson 356 

Ulysses S. Grant 359 

Westward Across the Plains 360 

Custer's Fight with the Sioux Indians 363 

Rutherford B. Hayes 366 

Meeting of the Union and Central Pacific Railroads 367 

James A. Garfield 368 

Chester A. Arthur 369 

Grover Cleveland 370 

Benjamin Harrison * 371 

The Capitol, Washmgton, D. C 373 

William McKinley 377 

The U. S. Battleship "Maine" Entering Havana Harbor 378 

Annihilation of Spanish Fleet in Harbor of Manila 379 

Theodore Roosevelt 385 

Panama Canal Zone 386 



xii ILLUSTRATIONS 

Reclaiming Arid Lands in the West by Reservoirs and Irrigation 387 

WilUam H. Taft 390 

Woodrow Wilson 393 

Oblique View of Capitol and Congressional Library, Washington 395 

Weaving ''Tree Cloth," Used in Controlling the Mississippi River Floods 399 

Rolling Structural Steel, Pencoyd Iron Works, Philadelphia County .... 403 

Blast Furnace and Pig Iron Store-yard at Birmingham, Alabama 407 

A Modern Express Train in Service Between New York and Chicago. ... 415 

The Union Pacific Crossing Salt Lake 420 

On the Coast of Southern Alaska 423 

A Tobacco Field Covered with Cloth for Protection, Porto Rico 425 

On the Border of Lake Chalco 429 

Rainbow Falls Near Hilo, Hawaii 434 

A Threatening Submarine Attack 437 

General John J. Pershing 445 

Vice-Admiral W. S. Sims 446 

An American-made " Baby" Tank 448 

Typical Trench Photograph 450 

MAPS 

United States and Possessions (colored) 1 

Map of Jamestown and the Neighboring Settlements Prior to the Settle- 
ment of Maryland and North Carolina 10 

Map Showing the First Voyage of Christopher Columbus and the First 

and Second Voyages of John Cabot 24 

Map of New England. 52 

The Middle Colonies 71 

The Carolinas and Georgia 79 

Map Showing Principal Indian Stocks, with Some of the Tribes Figuring 

Prominently in Early Colonial History 81 

Map Showing the English Colonies Prior to the French and Indian Wars 

and the Claims of France and Spain in North America 93 

The Fort Duquesne Campaign 102 

Map of the Original Thirteen Colonies , 156 

War Map of the South During the Revolution 161 

The New Jersey Campaign 166 

Map Showing Campaign Against CornwalHs at Yorktown 181 

Map Showing State Claims to Western Territory 187 

Maps Showing War with Mexico and Scott's Campaign 277 

Map of Theatre of War in Virginia ■ 320 

Map Showing the River Routes of Transportation and Transcontinental 

Railways and Canals 388 

European Battle Fronts, December 1917 444 

Western Front 452 

Territorial Acquisitions (colored) 498 



AMERICAN HISTORY 
AND GOVERNMENT 

CHAPTER I 
Genesis of the United States 

In North America, settlement by Europeans began 
long* afte * Columbus set foot in the West Indies on 
October 12, 1492. In subsequent voyages, Columbus 
had turned to the south, and it remained for another 
Italian navigator, Giovanni Caboto, or John Cabot, to 
discover, in 1497, the continent of North America. 

Cabot, sailing under a commission from Henry VII 
of England, explored the Atlantic coast in two remarkable 
voyages (1497-1498), laying claim to all that he saw in 
the name of England and Henry VII. 

Nevertheless, excepting sundry voyages of exploration 
conducted chiefly under the flags of France, Spain, Eng- 
land, and Portugal, and some attempts at settlement, the 
Indians remained for over half a century undisturbed 
throughout the length and breadth of the vast and almost 
trackless forests and prairies of the Northern Continent.^ 

In terms of European settlement, the history of North 
America begins with the coming of Spanish, French, and 
English colonists. The Spanish began colonization first ; 
and, out of several attempts, they had estab- 
lished, before the close of the sixteenth cen- French in 

. North America 

tury, two permanent settlements withm the 

present bounds of the United States — at St. Augustine, 

^ For further details and the European background for these events, 
see page 22, et seq. 

1 



2 GENESIS OF THE UNITED STATES 

Florida, in 1565, and at Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 1582." 
In the same century, the French attempted some early set- 
tlements on the coast of what was to be South Carolina, 
and they succeeded later in establishing colonization in 
Canada, which dominion was ceded to the English at the 
close of the ^'French and Indian Wars.'' 

It is almost wholly with English settlement, however, 
that the history of the United States has to deal, for the 
English-speaking colonists, with their forms 
un1te(f^state? ° of self-govemment, in sharp contrast with 
the then autocratic forms of France and 
Spain, soon extended themselves over the whole of the 
country from Maine to Florida, and, afterwards, from 
the Atlantic to the Pacific. 

English settlement in America had thirteen separate 
beginnings and local governments, commencing with Vir- 
ginia, established in 1607, and Massachusetts in 1620, and 
ending with Georgia, settled in 1733. Each of these be- 
ginnings is full of interest and each is different from the 
others, while the story of the origin of the first two colo- 
nies gives us, perhaps, the most inspiring narrative of 
thoughtful planning for the political betterment of the 
human race that has been recorded in the history of 
the whole world. 

The most instructive lessons for the present are to be 
derived from the experiences of the past ; and, as late as 
1914, three centuries and more after the establishment 
of the first English colony in America we find the Old 
World involved in a mighty struggle between certain Gov- 
ernments that were under the supreme control of auto- 
crats and certain other Governments that had been 

^ For accounts of these explorations and settlements, see page 28. 



WILL OF KINGS VS. POPULAR SELF-GOVERNMENT 3 

largely or altogether created by the people. Hence, in 
Europe, in 1914, there were two ideas of governnient in 
more or less direct opposition to each other. 

In 1606, when the permanent settlement of America 
was being planned, these same opposing ideas of govern- 
nient were in conflict in the British Isles. On the one side, 
James I firmly believed in the ' ' divine right 
of kings'^ under which the people could vs.^PopWr ^"^^ 
assert but few, if any, rights. On the othei*, 
a strong group of liberal Englishmen who had helped 
Queen Elizabeth break the world power of the mighty 
Spanish king, Philip II, believed in an increasing measure 
of self-government by the people, particularly as the 
people more and more proved themselves capable of self- 
control. These men were under the active leadership of 
Sir Edwin Sandys, who may well be called the Founder 
of America.^ 

Sandys and some of his most active associates were, 
from time to time, put under arrest for their views and 
teachings, their property was seized, and their lives were 
threatened. They must have believed, however, that the 
times were not then ripe for a ^ ^ Great Rebellion, ' ' such as 
that led by Oliver Cromwell against Charles I, James's 
son and successor. Hence, when Sandys and his fellow- 
Englishmen felt that their plans for freedom were 
shackled in the Old World, they looked for hope towards 
the New. America became to them the '^Promised 
Land" of Liberty. 

^ James I maintained that he ruled by grace of God alone and that 
Ire was not responsible to the people. Three centuries later, William II, 
King of Prussia and Emperor of Germany, declared, August 25, 1910: 
" Looking upon myself as the instrument of the Lord, without regard to 
the opinions and intentions of the day, I go my way." 



4 GENESIS OF THE UNITED STATES 

Frequently meeting under the shadow of one of the 
monuments erected by James I to the '^ divine right" of 
kings, these far-sighted men created a company or cor- 
poration for the colonization of Virginia, ** Virginia" 
being the name Queen Elizabeth had previously given to 
the greater part of the coast of North America from about 
the St. Lawrence River to Florida (see 
London^company for uote ou Sir Walter Ralcigli, page 30). 

American Colonization n j i i n ■ -i f» 

Then and there, under the guidance oi 
this London Company, the continent of North America was 
dedicated to freedom. And it may be added, that what- 
ever were their dreams of the future, Sandys and his 
associates ' ^ builded better than they knew, ^ ' for what they 
built up in the New World proved to be the hope and in- 
spiration of those European peoples who afterwards fol- 
lowed the standard of political and religious liberty 
entrusted to Englishmen transplanted on American soil. 
Thenceforth, America became a haven of refuge for the 
oppressed of every country; so that, in 1917, the free 
American descendants of all the Old World nations were 
able, on the battlefields of Europe, to turn the tide against 
a group of military autocrats who, with the most highly 
developed war machine in all history and aided by the 
mighty discoveries of modern science, had fully expected 
to become more terribly powerful than any tyrants that 
the world has ever known. 

Laying the Foundations of the First Colony 

In the British Isles, just as James I sought to extend 
the powers of the king, so Sir Edwin Sandys and his 
associates sought to increase the freedom of the people. 



JAMES I VS. SIR EDWIN SANDYS 



The latter, therefore, planned to set up in America what 

was described by them as a ^^free popular State,'' whose 

inhabitants 

should have '^no 

Government putt 

upon them but 

by their own 

Consente. ' ' * 

James I was 
too selfish t o 
spend or risk his 
money in the sup- 
port of a colony 
in America, and 
he was too short- 
sighted to fore- 
see or be greatly 
interested in the 
future extension 
of British influ- 
ence in the New 
World to offset 
the expansion of 
Spain or of 
France. The 
members of the 
London Company, therefore, provided the money neces- 
sary to equip the new enterprise and the men to carry it 

*It is important to realize, however, that Sandys and his associates 
were obliged to hide their purpose from the King and especially his 
Spanish advisers, who afterwards spied upon the meetings of the London 
Company and reported to James that he would have more trouble with 
this group than any body of men in the world. 




Brown, Houghton-Mifflin 



SIR EDWIN SANDYS 

The leading spirit of the London Company which made 
possible political liberty at Jamestown and religious free- 
dom at Plymouth Rock. Born December 9, 1561. Died 
October, 1629. 



6 GENESIS OF THE UNITED STATES 

out. But no attempt at settlement could be undertaken 
without the permission of the King, who, fortunately, 
was persuaded that there might be great mines of gold 
James I vs. ^^^ silver in North America such as the 

Sir Edwinsandys gp^niards had already found on the South- 
ern Continent. Hence, James gave his permission, with- 
out risk on his part, provided he got a large share of any 
possible profit, particularly in precious metals. 

In view of these facts, it is safe to say that if elames I had 
understood the political intentions of these Founders of American 
liberty, he would never have permitted the first colony to set out. 
Afterwards, when be began to realize what was happening — that 
the colonj" at Jamestown had gone so far as to establish in 1619 
a popular Parliament, and that, in 1620, Sandys and his associates 
lielped to make it possible for a number of Englishmen then in 
exile in Holland to establish a colony of religious dissenters in 
New England, the enraged monarch, after threatening the lives 
of its leaders, finally dissolved the London Comi:)any. But the 
standard of popular self-government had been successfully set 
up, and neither James nor any of his successors was ever able 
wholly to turn back the tide of political progress.^ 

The London Company received its charter from King 
James in April, 1606, and it got its first colony ready for 
Sailing of the Sailing in mid-December of the same year 
First colony (December 30, New Style). Hence, it hap- 
pened that just at the time wdien their fellow-countrymen 

^ Edward Rider, a member of the Virginia Company, wrote, as early 
as 1623: "There is a material difference between the Spanish and English 
plantations. For the Spanish colonies were founded by the kings of Spain 
out of their own treasury and revenues, and they maintain the garrisons 
there, together with a large Navy for their use and defence; whereas, the 
English plantations had been first settled and since supported at the charge 
of private adventurers and planters." 

Nearly two centuries later Thomas Jefferson wrote : " The ball of the 
American Revolution received its first impulse, not from the actors in that 
event, but from the first colonists." 



SAILING OF THE FIRST COLONY 7 

were preparing to enjoy the festivities of the Christmas 
and New Year season, a small band of one hundred and 
five adventurous spirits set sail from London in the Sarah 
Constant, the Goodspeed, and the Discovery , three frail 
barks, the largest of which was but 100 tons, and the small- 
est, the Discovery y was only 20 tons — with about the dis- 
placement of a modern tugboat used in seaboard ports. 
In these tiny vessels the first colonists embarked to estab- 
lish the beginnings of a mighty nation. 

For fear, doubtless, of attracting the hostile attention of the 
Spanish, who were always jealousl^^ on the lookout for their 
claims to the New World, there were no extended public demon- 
strations of farewell. The colonists slipped away comparatively 
unheralded by the London crowxls, but with the knowledge and 
prayerful good wishes of the greatest men of the Elizabethan 
age, perhaps the most famous epoch in English history. The 
poet and patriot, Michael Drayton, born near the birthplace of 
Shakespeare and buried beside Chaucer and Spenser, wrote of the 
departing emigrants : 

You brave heroique minds. 
Worthy your countrie's name. 
That honor still pursue, 
Goe, and subdue, 
Whilst loyt'ring hinds 

Lurk here at home with shame. . . . 

And in regions farre, 

Such heroes bring yee foorth 
As those from whom we came ; 
And plant our name 
Under that starre 

Not knowne unto our north. 

It seems certain that Shakespeare knew about the departure, 
and he may even have seen the emigrants off, for the man next 
to Sir Edwin Sandys in active leadership of the London Company 



8 GENESIS OF THE UNITED STATES 

was Henry Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton, the powerful 
patron of the great dramatist. Two years later, when Shake- 
speare learned of the wreck and final rescue of the ship's crew 
bearing to Virginia the first Charter drawn up for 
Sandys, and' the colouists (page 15), he made that the occasion for 
Shakespeare ^rj-j^jj^g fj^^ Tempcst, in which Miranda, his "most 

perfect woman character, ' ' may have been intended to represent 
the genius of America ; and it is not impossible that he intended 
Ariel to typify the spirit of liberty set free in the New World. 

Including a stop at the Canary Islands on the way, the 
first colonists were four months on their' mid-winter 
voyage — time enough in cramped quarters to test the 
mettle of any group of men. Happily, they survived the 
voyage and, on April 26, 1607, they sighted the Capes at 
Tj^g the entrance to Chesapeake Bay, naming them 
Voyage Qharlcs and Henry, after the two sons of James I. 
They then explored the lower waters of the Bay, on which, 
in 1862, the first fighting ironclads of the world were des- 
tined to end the days of wooden warships (page 323). 
After sailing some thirty miles up " a great river, ' ' which 
they called the James, they decided to land on a peninsula- 
like plot of ground. This the.y named Jamestown, disem- 
barking on May 14, old style calendar, or May 24, by 
our present reckoning, a day to he remembered as the 
beginning in the New World of the greatest Republic 
of modern times. 

The colonists, who had already industriously begun to 
set up houses and fortifications, wrote home glowing 
accounts of the ^'Promised Land." They 
Ss^Rel^urces * told first of tlic great beauty and unlimited 
extent of the new country, of the vast quan- 
tity of fish and oysters in the waters, and of the virgin 
forest which was, in places, so free of undergrowth that 



THE NEW LAND; ITS RESOURCES AND DANGERS 9 



a ^^ coach and four horses'' might pass beneath and be- 
tween the trees ; they expressed, also, their astonishment 
over the flocks of ^Svild turkeys," and ^^pidgeons" so 
numerous that in flying overhead they frequently ^'dark- 
ened the sky." 

In spite of these wonderful natural attractions and 






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LANDING AT JAMESTOWN, 1607 

At the time of the first landing, a service of thanksgiving was held. In the background 
may be seen the vessels which brought over the first permanent English settlers — the 
Sarah Constant, the Goodspeed, and the Discovery. The largest of these ships was one 
hundred tons burden and the smallest but twenty. With these may be compared the 
Titanic of 46,000 tons, sunk in a collision with an iceberg in April, 1912. 

resources, many things prevailed against the immediate 
prosperity of the colony. Bands of Indians under the 
lead of ''King" Powhatan and his even more dangerous 
brother, Opechancanough, sought to kill the settlers and 
destroy the colony. Years before, on this coast, a much 
larger and better equipped colony of Spaniards had 
attempted settlement and had doubtless aroused the hos- 
tility of the Indians, so that the instant the English landed 



10 



GENESIS OF THE UNITED STATES 




C.Hatteraf 
t;ROATOAN I 



l-l »0»TES CO., h.Y. 



Longitude 78° West 



from Greenwich 76° 



Map of Jamestown and the neighboring settlements prior to the settlement of 
Maryland and North Carolina. Map also gives Roanoke Island, the site of the so- 
called "Lost Colony" sent over by Sir Walter Raleigh. "Middle Plantation" 
afterwards became Williamsburg, the capital of early Virginia after Jamestown. 

they were greeted with a shower of arrows, and one of 
those wounded was Captain Gabriel Archer, a political 



i 



THE NEW LAND; ITS RESOURCES AND DANGERS 11 

progressive, wJio first proposed (1609) the calling of a 
Colonial Parliament. Moreover, the high grasses on the 
low-lying peninsula at Jamestown made it comparatively 
easy for Indian attacks at all hours of the day and night. 
Indeed, the selection of this low land for settlement was 
unfortunate in every way; for the most deadly enemy of 
the first colonists was malarial fever. Three centuries 
later, American scientists led the way in the discovery 
that various species of mosquitoes spread the germs of 
various kinds of fever, but no physicians of the seven- 
teenth century had learned am^thing about the origin of 
fevers and they knew little about combating them. It is 
believed that as late as 1799 George Washington was 
"bled to death" for a bad cold, and for many generations 
surgeons exhausted the victims of fever by similar 
methods, or even worse ones. 

Nearly all the colonists were weakened by the terrible 
attacks of the malarial scourge, and scores of them died. 
All who came had to undergo a period of getting ' ' acclima- 
tized'^ or used to the new conditions, and it is the wonder 
of the age that men were found who were willing to risk 
or endure such ills as these, which they knew not how 
to combat. 

In addition to the hardships of an unaccustomed cli- 
mate and the intense hostility of the' natives, the rules of 
conduct laid down by the King imposed peculiar difficulties 
on the settlers. Not only were they very properly directed 
to prepare return cargoes of American products, but they 
were also commanded to carry on a search for a "north- 
west passage to India,'' and for mines of gold and silver. 
Worse yet, by the King's plan, all the settlers were to 
contribute to a common storehouse and draw therefrom 



12 GENESIS OF THE UNITED STATES 

in equal measuire, reg'ardless of individual merits or 
abilities. In such cases, experience has shown that the 
lazy or indifferent are not likely to exert them- 
cJmmunai sclvcs, whilc the iudustrious become discour- 
aged. The failure of such a system seems as- 
sured, unless, on the whole, human nature should undergo 
a change. At Plymouth, for example, some thirteen years 
later, the *^ Pilgrim Fathers'' had this same communal 
system provided for them at the start of that famous set- 
tlement (see page 40). The system failed there also for 
the same reasons ; so that subsequent colonies, evidently 
profiting by the experience of the tirst two, avoided this 
serious mistake. 

Among" the leaders of the first settlement at Jamestown there 
may be mentioned Captain Gabriel Archer, alreadj^ referred to 
(page 11), and Captain Bartholomew Gosnold, who had seen 

extensive service in American exploration 
an^mher^Llafers"'' "^^cr the direction of Sir Walter Raleigh. 

There was Captain John Martin, who, surviv- 
ing* the hardships of early colonization, two stormy voyages to 
England, and the great Indian massacre of 1622, lived some 
twenty years and more in the colony as the most successful of all 
the early planters. Martin had commanded the Benjamin under 
the famous English Admiral, Sir Francis Drake, in the expedition 
which had rescued the unsuccessful colony on Roanoke Island in 
1586 (page 30). There was, also. Captain George Percy, of an 
old Anglo-Scottish border family, who had served with distinction 
in the Netherlands; Captain John Ratcliffe; Captain Edward- 
Maria Wingfield, and the adventurous Captain John Smith. 

Smith requires special mention, since, by license of King 
James, he became the chief historian of the colony. Either he 
was a man naturally jealous of the fame of others, or else he 
wrote ill accounts of his associates at Jamestown, and slightingly 
of the great men who formed the London Company in England, 
in order to please his roysil master. Unhappily, his easily acces- 



CAPTAIN JOHN MARTIN AND OTHER LEADERS 13 

sible accounts of Virginia have colored all our early histories, and 
it is only in very recent years that we have come to realize how 
untrustworthy his narrative is.^ 

While there can be no doubt that Smith was a remarkably 
brave and adventurous character, it seems clear that he greatly 
exaggerated his part in the founding of the first colony and that 
he grossly slandered Captains Archer, Ratcliffe, Percy, and others. 
Furthermore, he has given no hint of the splendid purpo'se under- 
lying the beginnings of American settlement. We must always 
go beyond and behind Smith's "General Historic of Virginia" 
in order to get at the truth about the first colony. 

In any event, from the first. Smith became an element of dis- 
cord among the settlers. He arrived in chains, charged with 
attempting to incite a mutiny against the captain of his ship, and, 
at Jamestown, he would have been put in confinement but for the 
fact that, upon opening the King's secret instructions. Captain 

'brown's The Genesis of the United States. Brown's The Genesis of the United States 

Newport discovered that James I had made Smith one of the 
group of Councilors for the colony. When, in 1609, Smith left 
the colony forever, he was publicly accused of plotting to betray 
Captain Francis West and his men to the Indians. While these 
charges w^ere never proved or pressed, it is true that the London 
Company ignored Smith thereafter; and, when the ''Pilgrim 
Fathers" declined to accept his offer to guide them to their 
Promised Land, he subsequently laid the blame for all their early 
privations upon their refusal to accept his leadership.' 

^ In his " History of Historical Writing in America," Dr. J. Franklin 
Jameson summarizes the evidence as follows: 

" Smith's narrative is a remarkable historical mosaic, of which it may 
almost be said that what is historical is not his, and what is his in 
not historical." 

'' Alexander Brown, who, after years of research in th-e British archives, 
published many records previously little known, has contended that Cap- 
tain Smith denounced the London Company's management in Virginia and 



14 GENESIS OF THE UNITED STATES 

Smith was an excellent cartographer and prepared many good 
mai)s of what he saw. In December, 1607, on one of his exploring 
trips up the various rivers entering the Chesapeake Bay, in search 
of ' ' the Northwest Passage, ' ' Smith was captured by the Indians 
and carried before Powhatan. Smith tells us that as he was about 
to be put to death, Pocahontas, the twelve-year-old daughter of 
Powhatan, rushed forward and begged her father to spare his 
life. In any event. Captain Smith was permitted by the Indians 
to return to Jamestown. Later, in 1608, Smith became President 
of the Council, by reason of the order of succession provided for 
by the King. Injured in 1609 by the accidental explosion of a 
bag of gunpowder, he returned to England and afterwards ex- 
plored the Atlantic coast east of the Hudson and called it 
New England. 

Upon the departure of Smith, George Percy succeeded 
to the Presidency. In the meantime, the first marriage in 
The First ^^^ ^^^ colouy was celebrated ; for, during the 
Marriage spring of 1608, Captain Christopher Newport 
arrived with additional settlers. One of these new set- 
tlers was Anne Burras. Her marriage in the following 
summer with John Laydon was the first English marriage 
ceremony performed in the New World. Their baby 
daughter was christened Virginia. 

Thereafter followed the most critical period in the life 
of the colony ; for, in 1610, the weakened and discouraged 
survivors of fever and of incessant attacks by the Indians 
prepared to return to England. They had actually em- 
barked when they were met at the mouth of the James by 
Lord Delaware, with new settlers and supplies. All then 
returned to Jamestown, and Delaware gave thanks to 
God that he had come in time to save the settlement. 

praised the plan of the King in order to aid James I in overthrowing 
■\vliat he considered to be the " dangerous " democracy of that corporation. 
See Brown's English Politics in Early Virginia History ; also, especially for 
reprints of old records, documents, etc., his The Genesis of the United States, 



THE FIRST CHARTER OF SELF-GOVERNMENT 15 

The year 1609, however, is particularly memorable in 
the story of the early development of American liberty. 
In that year. Captains Archer and Ratcliffe, taking with 
them '/ a breath of the free air of Virginia, ' ' visited Eng- 
land, and while there doubtless aided the members of the 
London Company to secure a Great Charter, which defi- 
nitely established the beginnings of government by the 
people. This Charter of 1609 w^as draw^n up by Sir Edwin 
Sandys and prepared for the King's signa- 
ture by Sir Francis Bacon, the most distin- chLteV^^f 
guished statesman and philosopher of that 
day, and Sir Henry Hobart. The primary purpose of this 
instrument was to aid the colonists to secure self-govern- 
ment and at the same time disguise such an intention from 
James I. It marked an important step f oi^^ard from that 
made in the beginning. The original plan allowed by the 
King in 1607 gave the colonists ' ' the liberties, franchises, 
and immunities'' of Englishmen in the mother country. 
The Charter of 1609 prepared the way for self-govern- 
ment; and, when Ratcliffe and Archer had returned to 
Virginia, the latter sought to have a colonial ^'Parlia- 
ment" called at once to set aside or curb the rule of Cap- 
tain John Smith, who was then acting as the autocratic 
President of the Council. Archer died in the winter of 
1609-10, and the Parliament he then sought was not called 
together until 1619.^ 

* It should be noted that the underlying political aims of the London 
Company looking towards a greater measure of liberty had always to be 
disguised by the Founders. In regard to their purposes we get less direct 
light from the terms of the Charter than from the scattered statements of 
the " managers " of the enterprise, as, for example, Robert Johnson's Nova 
Britannica; but even here it was dangerous to put anything in writing 
which might be carried to the King and further arouse his suspicions. 



16 GENESIS OF THE UNITED STATES 

The fleet that bore the First Charter set sail from Eng- 
land on June 12, 1609. Near the Bermuda Isles, it encoun- 
tered the storm immortalized by Shakespeare in The 
Tempest. Part of the fleet weathered the storm and made 
port at Jamestown, but The Sea Venture, the ship bearing 
the Charter, with Sir Thomas Gates, the newly appointed 
Governor of Virginia, and Admiral Somers, was wrecked 
on the coast of ^ ' the still vex 'tBermoothes, ' ' ^ but all hands 
were saved. While they were subsisting on wild game and 
tropical fruits, the courageous crew constructed two small 
ships, well-named the Deliverance and the Patience, in 
which they set sail for Jamestown, arriving there June 2, 
1610, almost a year after they had departed from England. 

This was a momentous occasion. All the colonists 
repaired to the Jamestown church and the Reverend 
Richard Buck preached to them on the prophetic text: 
^^Now the Lord had said unto Ahram, Get thee out of thy 
country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's 
house, unto a land that I will shew thee. And I will make 
of thee a great nation . . . and in thee shall all fami- 
lies of the earth he blessed.^* 

The year 1609 is notable, therefore, chiefly because of 
the grant of the First Charter of self-government in 
America. It is also notable because it marks the date of 
the liberation of Holland from Spanish tyranny, together 
with an important message from Sir Edwin Sandys and 
the London Company to ''His Majesty's subjects'' in 
Holland, offering them in America (Virginia) the refuge 
from religious tyranny which they had just sought in the 
Netherlands. This invitation may be said to be the first 
step taken towards the establishment of Pilgrim and 

^ Shakespeare: The Tempest, Act I, Scene II. 



CULTIVATION OF TOBACCO 17 

Puritan colonization in New England (page 35, et seq.)}^ 
From 1610 to 1619 there were several periods of great 
distress in tiie colony, but there was also an increase in the 
number of settlers who had passed through the season of 
malarial sickness and had become acclimatized. These 
could work, therefore, with renewed vigor and hope 
of success. 

It was at this time that Pocahontas was seized by the 
settlers as a hostage for the future good behavior of 
Powhatan. While she was a captive, a settler named John 
Rolfe fell in love with ^*the Indian princess," converted 
her to Christianity, and married her. The mar- cultivation 
riage greatly helped the struggling colonists, for °* Tobacco 
it brought peace with the Indians during years of slow 
growth and expansion. John Rolfe was also the first 
Englishman to begin the cultivation of tobacco, which 
soon became a leading industry in the colony. The con- 
stant demand for more cleared ground for its cultivation 
accounted for the beginning of several ^^plantations" or 
settlements. Indeed, in those days, tobacco was said to be 
*^ almost worth its weight in gold," as it sold in 1617 for 
about $20 a pound at values current in 1920. 

Under the administration of Sir Thomas Dale (1611- 
1616) the communal system was wholly abolished and 
thus a great obstacle to progress was removed. Dale was 
a strict, unyielding soldier, and under his rule very severe 
laws were laid down for the colonists. Moreover, he was 
extremely jealous of intrusion on the part of any foreign 
nation in Virginia, by which he meant the whole of the 

^"^ While the invitation was freely offered, the language was carefully 
phrased for fear of offense to James I. It is a fair assumption, also, in 
view of what later developed, that the " Pilgrims " were singled out or in- 
cluded in the invitation. 
2 



18 



GENESIS OF THE UNITED STATES 



North American coast to St. Augustine. For example, 
he summarily seized a number of Spaniards whom he de- 
clared were ^ ^ spying out the country. ' ' This very active 

and militant governor 
of Virginia also sent 
out two expeditions 
to the North, which 
succeeded in captur- 
ing several groups of 
French settlers, as 
far distant as the 
present State of 
Maine. 

In 1612 the London 
Company was able to 
get from King James 
a further extension of 
the privileges set 
forth in the first 
charter of 1609. This 
also was drafted by 
Sandys and skilfully 
prepared for the 
King's assent by Sir 
Francis Bacon. On 
April 29 (April 19, 
O.S.), 1619, Sir 

Copyright, 1908, William Ordway Partridge VjCOl gC 1 earQiey ar- 

Statue of Pocahontas, executed by the American rlvcd aS GoVemOr of 
Bculptor, William Ordway Partridge, for Jamestown 

Island, where Pocahontas saved the first settlement VirSfinia Hc CaUlC 

from massacre, and where she married John Rolfe. ^ 

The expenses for this memorial were defrayed by the -Fvrkm T .r»-nrln-n in /r\^ii 

Pocahontas Society, the Daughters of the American J 1 Ulll XJUllUUll lU pWi 

f^-^l^^^^'^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^'-'^^^'^^^^ into full effect the 




THE FIRST AMERICAN SCHOOL 19 

principles of self-government ivhich had become the 
precious privilege of the colonists by the terms of the 
^^ Great Charter'^ of 1609, extended in 1612. 

The year 1619, therefore, is as memorable in American begin- 
nings as 1609. In April, 1606, the London Company was formed. 
It was in April, 1607, that the colonists entered the Chesapeake 
Bay, and it was in April, 1619, that' Yeardley arrived prepared 
to carry out the plans for government by the people which was to 
become the distinguishing characteristic of all the English col- 
onies in America. 

Governor Yeardley announced that land was to be 
distributed in tracts of 100 acres and that the people ivere 
to share in the making of laws. Accordingly, 
the first representative legislative assembly in Jie^Fkst^ 
America was called together at Jamestown on AsfeSwy^ 
Aug-ust 9 (July 30, O.S.), 1619. The twenty 
members of this first Representative Assembly were called 
the Virginia House of Burgesses, and the members were 
elected by ten separate communities or plantations, one 
of which was Jamestown. Six Councilors, or a kind of 
Senate, represented the London Company, and Governor 
Yeardley presided. 

Although at this time the entire population of the 
colony was less than 2000 persons, the assembly voted 
for the reservation of a tract of 10,000 acres ^j^^ p.^.^^ 
to provide for the founding of a school or American school 
college at Henrico, on the James River. This school was 
largely intended for the education of the Indians in letters 
and Christianity, but the buildings were destroyed by the 
Indians themselves in 1622, and the teachers massacred. 

It is interesting to note, also, that grants of land were 
made to the boys and girls of the older colonists, and 



20 GENESIS OF THE UNITED STATES 

special laws were passed for the encouragement of agri- 
culture. In addition, legislation was enacted, taxing 
undue display in wearing apparel with a view to prevent- 
ing extravagance in these matters. The Church of Eng- 
land was made the Church of Virginia, and attendance at 
its services was, for many years, compulsory. 

The first settlers, like all pioneers in a new country, 
stood greatly in need of laborers to help till the land and 
develop industries. To supply this demand, the planters 
arranged for the coming of a number of ^'indentured'' 
Indentured scrvants, or pcrsous who were bound to labor 
Servants f^^ a pcrlod to thosc wlio agreed to pay their 
passage to America. After their term of service expired, 
these persons frequently obtained land for themselves, 
but many of them emigrated westward and became the 
ancestors of people who remained apart unto themselves 
for several centuries in the mountain districts of the 
South. Not a few of these welcomed their term of service 
as a release from imprisonment in England for debts 
which they could not pay ; and it must be remembered in 
this connection that our code of laws do not now imprison 
men merely for inability to pay their debts. 

In this same year (1619), in which so many noteworthy 
events happened, negroes were introduced into the colony, 
not at first as slaves, as commonly represented, but as in- 
dentured servants bound out for service for a 
fnTthe^^ °^ limited number of years. Many of these 
negroes, if not all, gained their freedom as 
did the whites. In the case of the negroes, however, it was 
soon recognized that they were far inferior in develop- 
ment, and that a race just redeemed from the lowest forms 
of barbarism might become a menace if granted equal 



DISSOLUTION OF THE LONDON COMPANY 21 

rights with Bng-lishmen. In a short time, negro slavery 
became common in all of the English colonies. 

It has been seen, therefore, that the year 1619 was a 
most important one in the history of America, and that 
at this time the great principles of self-government were 
being put to a test in Virginia for the lasting benefit of 
the first colony and all those that followed. 
Unhappily, however, it must be added that Londl!n*c?raVn^- 
the group of far-sighted men who, at great i^cSTp'Tshment ' 
sacrifice, secured for the first colonists this 
measure of liberty, had incurred thereby the determined 
hostility of James I. The King falsely accused the Lon- 
don Company of mismanagement and dissolved it. So 
passed this patriotic body; but, before its dissolution, in 
1624, Sir Edwin Sandys and his associates had established 
a ^^free popular State" at Jamestowm, which had been 
in successful operation for a period of seventeen years, 
and they had also made it possible for the settlement of 
equally determined Englishmen, who had, in 1620, founded 
a second free colony on the New England coast, the story 
of which will be taken up in the next chapter. These two 
colonies, and eleven others like them, were, owing to the 
faith and sacrifices of Sir Edwin Sandys and his asso- 
ciates, able to set up and maintain the standard of popular 
government for the inspiration of the people of the Old 
World as well as the New. 

NOTES AND SIDELIGHTS 

Review of Conditions in Europe in the Fifteenth Century 

In the study of United States history, it seems best, and cer- 
tainly more interesting, to begin with the first permanent settle- 
ment at Jamestown. Otherwise, the attention of the reader or 
student is distracted at the start with the names and deeds of 



22 GENESIS OF THE UNITED STATES 

many explorers and with numerous attempts at colonization by 
peoples and groups which have had no direct bearing on the 
development of our country. 

After starting with the story of the first colony, however, it 
is well to pause and survey the scene from the first ' ' landfall ' ' of 
Columbus in 1492 to settlement by the English in 1607. It is 
well to recall the fact that the exploration of the western seas 
which led to the discovery of America was stimulated by the 
capture of Constantinople by the Turks in 1453, who began 

thereafter to make difficult or impossible 
all the previously profitable trade which 
Europeans had carried on with India and 
the Far East by routes through the Red Sea 
and overland through Asia Minor. 

Consequently, new routes were sought, 
and some daring spirits tried to sail 
around the continent of Africa. Others, 
like Christopher Columbus (Cristoforo 
Colombo) and John Cabot (Giovanni 
Coboto), thought that they could reach 
COLUMBUS the East by sailing to the westward. 

^reSetiirMadSd" ^^ ^^^hcr words, they believed that the 

earth was round instead of flat, as, in 
those days, it was generally thought to be. 

Columbus Sets Out to Prove His Belief. — After years of 
patient effort, Columbus finally succeeded in interesting Ferdi- 
nand and Isabella, King and Queen of Spain, who, on April 17, 
1492, drew up an agreement appointing Columbus an admiral 
and authorizing him to make the voyage westward in search of 
India. Subsequently, in command of the Santa Maria, the Piiita, 
and the Nina, Columbus set out from Palos, Spain, in August' 
1492. After a stay of a month at the Canaries, land was sighted 
in the Western Hemisphere for the first time on the evening of 
October 11th. On the following day Columbus and his men 
disembarked on a small island in the Bahama group, probably 
the one now known as Watling Island. Thinking that he had 
landed off the coast of India, it was natural for Columbus to call 
the natives ' ' Indians. ' ' 




COLUMBUS SETS OUT TO PROVE HIS BELIEF 23 



From the Bahamas, Columbus went southward to Cuba. Still 
puzzled, but inclined to the belief that he was on the coast of 
Asia, he inquired for the Great Khan or ruler of Cipango 
(Japan?) described b}^ the famous traveler, Marco Polo, whose 
writing's had especially fired the imagination of Columbus. From 
Cuba, Columbus went to 
the next largest island to 
the east, now divided into 
Hayti and Santo Domingo. 
There the Santa Maria was 
wrecked on Christmas Day. 
and, leaving- forty men 
behind him in Hayti, 
Columbus returned to 
Spain with the other two 
vessels. Like the "lost 
colony" of Englishmen at 
Roanoke Island (see be- 
low), these first white men 
left in the New World were 
never seen again. 

Spanish Claims. — 
Subsequent voyages of 
Colombus led him to other 
islands in the West Indies 
and to the coast of South 
America. He laid claim 
to all lands, explored or 
unexplored, in the name 
of Spain. Shortly after, 
Spain, by a decree of the 
Pope, divided her claims 
with Portugal, at that 
period her great maritime rival, and the subsequent colonizer of 
Brazil. Notwithstanding these claims and the Pope's decree, 
control of territory in the New World came to be somewhat of a 
case of "first come, first served," and England, France, and 
Holland claimed, and secured, their shares also. 




Copyright by G. Y. Buck 

MEMORIAL TO CHRISTOPHEK COLUMBUS, 
WASHINGTON, D. C. 

Erected in 1912 by The Knights of Colum- 
bus. Designed by an American sculptor, Lorado 
Taft. 



24 



GENESIS OF THE UNITED STATES 



Columbus died at Valladolid, May 20, 1506. During- his last 
days he suffered from neglect and the ingratitude of the people 
he had served so wonderfull3^ Possibly Spain did not then realize 
what his discoveries meant, although they afterwards led to the 
seizure of vast stretches of territory in the New World and to the 




Map showing the first voyage of Christopher Columbus and the first and second 
voyages of John Cabot. The "?" at the southernmost point of Cabot's second 
voyage shows that we do not know the exact extent of that voyage. 

acquisition of fabulous quantities of gold and silver from the 
mines of Central and South America from Mexico to Chile. 

Two Methods of Colonization. — It is interesting to compare 
the effects of the autocratic methods of Spain with those of the 
Anglo-Celtic settlements of North America. In the former, the 
lands and the natives were exploited for the principal purpose 
of obtaining the greatest wealth in the shortest time. There was 
little or no effort to establish self-government, so that^ in the 



THE ORIGINAL AMERICANS 25 

course of time, Spain lost all her New World possessions. Mis- 
management in what she still retained existed to the end of her 
New World dominion, until, at the close of the nineteenth cen- 
tury, Cuba, almost the first land discovered and claimed for 
Spain by Columbus, and the last held by her, passed into so 
wretched a condition that the United States interfered and set 
her people free. Self-government was established, and, within 
the short period of a generation, the island could boast of a 
per capita wealth equal to many of the most prosperous nations 
of the earth. 

The lesson, therefore, is plain. Although the growth of the 
English colonies was slow at first, nevertheless the returns from 
the difficult development of liberty and self-government proved 
to be by far the best and most lasting. The heginnings at James- 
town and Plymouth Rock were worth more than all the returns 
of all the mines of South America from the day of Columbus to 
the present time. 

The Naming of America. — America, however, did not receive 
its name from Columbus, but from Amerigo Vespucci, an adven- 
turer of Florence. Vespucci made several voyages to the New 
World and wrote accounts of what he saw. It was from his first 
name, in connection with these accounts, that Martin Waldsee- 
muller, a German geographer, took the term America and printed 
that name in his publicationsconcerningthe Western Hemisphere. 

The Original Americans. — Another way of beginning the 
story of the United States is to start with all that is known of the 
Indian tribes, their traditions, habits, haunts, and customs. In- 
formation concerning ''the original Americans" may best be 
gained b}^ extended reading, although in this volume there is a 
later chapter containing the essential facts bearing upon 
this subject. Again, the story of the native Indians is neces- 
sarily involved throughout with the story of the settlement and 
development of North America by the founders of our present 
forms of government. Perhaps the most entertaining and com- 
plete of these accounts is given in the first volume of Elroy M. 
Avery's ''History of the United States." Avery's history is 
especially full and interesting in everything pertaining to Indian 
life and early exploration and discovery. 



26 GENESIS OF THE UNITED STATES 

John Cabot and the Discovery of North America. — The 

name of John Cabot, already mentioned (pages 1 and 22), 
should rank second onl.v to that of Columbus in the earliest annals 
of American history. Like Columbus, he sought aid and per- 
mission of the sovereigns of Europe to seek a western route to 
India. Unlike Columbus, however, Cabot failed to get the aid he 
sought until after his fellow-countrymen had definitely proved 
that there was a new world to the westward. Cabot was then 
successful in securing from Henry VII, the shrewd but frugal 
King of England, a patent ''to seeke out" the new country in the 
interests of the English. He secured this patent on the fifth of 
March, 1496, and set out in May, 1497, in a small vessel with a 
crew of only eighteen men. Partly in order to keep at a good dis- 
tance from hostile Spaniards in the West Indies, he directed his 
course almost due west. 

After setting up the English flag on the coast of Labrador (or 
Newfoundland) in the summer of 1497, he returned to England, 
where he was hailed as ' ' the great admiral ' ' and granted special 
favors and privileges, although his reward in actual cash was 
set down in the notebook of the King as follows: "To hym thai 
founde the new Isle, £10.'' 

This first voyage of John Cabot was followed by another in 
1498. He landed on the coast of Newfoundland and, after trying 
for a westward passage to India, he turned south and sailed for 
several weeks along the great and then unknown coast of the 
North American continent — on a voyage which has well been 
called the ''First American Coast Survey" (see map, page 24). 
The most complete record of Cabot's voyages is given in "The 
Discovery of North America," by Henry Harrisse. Harrisse 
asserts that Cabot very soon reached the conclusion that the new 
land he was exploring was quite distinct from the Continent of 
Asia (Book V, Chapter 4). 

Expedition of De Soto. — Between the time of Cabot's voy- 
ages and the beginnings of permanent English colonization, 
important events took place in Europe ; also many explorers and 
adventurers of the various maritime nations of Europe set out for 
America. Comparatively few of these attempted to establish 
colonies in North America. The majority of them sought imme- 



SPANISH ATTEMPTS AT SETTLEMENT 27 

diate wealth in the mines of gold and silver. Among the boldest 
of these adventurers was a Spaniard by the name of Hernando 
de Soto. While he was the Spanish governor of Cuba, De Soto 
had heard stories of gold and silver mines in the interior of the 
North American continent. Impelled, therefore, b3^ his desire 
for gain, he equipped an expedition consisting of several ships, 
600 men, and some 200 horses. Landing, in 1539, on the coast 
of Florida, he marched inland, battling with hostile Indians from 
the start. He pursued a course northward for 500 miles when he 
turned in a southwestward direction and cut his way almost to the 
Gulf of Mexico near the present site of Mobile. Still not despair- 
ing of finding the promised riches, he again set out inland to the 
north and west until he had passed the ' ' Father of Waters, ' ' as 
the Indians termed the Mississippi, and had penetrated far into 
the present State of Arkansas. Finally, the endurance and faith 
of his men began to fail so that the expedition turned south once 
more ; but on the return march De Soto died near the Mississippi 
River and was buried secretly in its waters, after three years of 
continuous wandering in the almost trackless wilderness and 
through the midst of warlike Indian tribes. The remainder of 
his band reached the mouth of the Mississippi in boats and thence 
made their way to Mexico, which the Spaniards had already con- 
quered in 1621. 

Spanish Settlement in Florida. — De Soto's search for gold 
and adventure was almost equalled in extent and danger by the 
expedition of De Vaca along the Gulf coast and of Coronado in 
the west, whose expedition led to the Pacific Ocean along the 
California coast. Linked with these, in the stories of Spanish 
exploration, is the expedition of the celebrated Ponce de Leon, 
who sought the fabled ''Fountain of Youth" in the glades of 
Florida. The explorations of De Leon, 1513, and De Soto, 
1539-42, led to the settlement of Florida, which began in 1565 at 
St. Augustine and Vv^hich for a long time proved a thorn in the 
side of English settlers in the south. 

Spanish Attempts at Settlement North of Florida. — Fol- 
lowing this, another Spaniard, Vasquez de Ayllon, sent out ves- 
sels from the West Indies to explore the coast west of Florida in 
search of a shorter passage to Asia than that discovered (1522) 



28 GENESIS OF THE UNITED STATES 

by Magellan through the vstrait that bears his name. On the 
east, the James River and Chesapeake Bay were also explored in 
vain for such a passageway. One expedition landed on the coast 
of South Carolina, gave an entertainment to the natives, and then 
kidnapped all who came aboard the ship. This act was dis- 
avowed by De Ayllon, who set out in 1526 with six hundred men 
and a number of negro slaves to found a permanent Spanish 
colony. He landed on the coast either in North Carolina or near 
the site of the later settlement of Jamestown, and built a town 
called San Miguel. The colony was not successful, and it was 
finally abandoned after three-fourths of the settlers had died from 
disease or Indian attacks. 

Had De Ayllon been successful in establishing a permanent 
settlement, the whole course of American history must have been 
different. In that event, the London Company that founded 
Jamestown could not have landed their colonists without declar- 
ing war on Spain, which James I would have been loath to do ; and 
English settlement must have heen at first restricted to the region 
north of the Potomac, or postponed for many years. 

Efforts to Establish a "New France" in America. — While 
these things were happening in southern waters, exploring parties 
and fishing and trade vessels were sent out to the shores of North 
America from England, France, and the Netherlands. Not in- 
frequently, the crews of these rival nations would engage in com- 
bat when they met in the New World ; and one French narrator 
tells us that on one occasion when most of his party had gone on 
shore, leaving him in charge of the ship, an English vessel hove 
in sight and prepared to attack. The Frenchman had a large gun 
on deck and this he fired as promptly as possible. The discharge 
did no damage, however, because, as the Frenchman regretfully 
adds, in the excitement of the moment, he had "forgotten to 
aim the piece." 

Subsequent French expeditions under Cartier led to the set- 
tlement of Canada and thereby gave the English colonists a 
troublesome neighbor on the North. 

In the South, French colonists clashed with the Spaniards, 
to the final extermination of the former. In 1562, three years 
after the founding of St. Augustine, Jean Rebault led a colony 



FIRST ATTEMPTS AT SETTLEMENT BY ENGLISH 29 

of Huguenots or French Protestants to the southern coast of 
North America. No permanent settlement was effected, although 
a start was made in Florida. In 1564, another colony, under 
Laudonniere, was established at the mouth of the St. John's 
River. These unfortunate settlers were, however, attacked in 1565 
and all slain by the Spanish, who then founded their own colony 
at St. Augustine. A French settlement at Port Royal, in what 
is now South Carolina, was begun in 1565, but failed, and was 
ultimately abandoned. 

First Attempts at Settlement by the English. — Attempted 
settlement by the English began in the reig-n of Queen Elizabeth 
and followed close upon the voyages of the noted English seamen, 
Davis, Frobisher, Gilbert, and Sir Francis Drake. The first two 
have given their names to bodies of water discovered by them 
in searching for a northwest passage to India, while Sir Francis 
Drake was the first Englishman to follow the pioneer Magellan 
in circumnavigating the globe. This he accomplished in 1577-80. 
On the way, Drake plundered Spanish towns and ships on the 
Pacific coast of South America and sailed along the Pacific 
coast of North America hoping to find a body of water leading 
east to the Atlantic. 

At about this time, Sir Walter Raleigh sought from Queen 
Elizabeth a charter, not only to explore the coast of North 
America but to make settlement there. That Raleigh should have 
earnestly sought the right to establish settlements is especially 
important as showing his faith and foresight; for no vessels had 
brought back from North America gold and silver, and Europeans 
generally began to think that, in comparison with South America, 
the North American continent was of little value. Raleigh, how- 
ever, had visions of sturdy English colonies in the New World, 
as Columbus had visions of trade routes to the East. In 1584, 
Raleigh sent out ships to explore the American coast. These 
landed on Roanoke Island in what is now North Carolina and the 
English spent several weeks there living on the fruit, fish, and 
game of the country, besides carrjdng on trade with the natives. 
The report made by this first expedition was so attractive that 
it led Elizabeth to name the countrj^ ''Virginia," in honor of 
herself as the Virgin Queen. 



30 



GENESIS OF THE UNITED STATES 



The folloAving year (1585) a settlement was made on the site 
of the previous landing*; but the colonists had trouble with the 
Indians and returned home some months later with Sir Francis 
Drake, whose fleet they hailed in passing- (see reference to Captain 
John Martin, page 12). In the meantime, a new party had been 
sent out to reinforce the first one. These found the settlement 
deserted, but left fifteen men to hold possession, who were sur- 
prised by the Indians and driven out to sea to be seen no more. 




JAMESTOWN CHURCH 



Despite this discourag-ement, Raleigh sent out another expedi- 
tion in 1587 which has since been known as ''the lost colony." 
It disappeared while England was engaged in her great struggle 
with Spain, which reached a climax in the defeat of the ' ' Invin- 
cible Armada" (1588). When, therefore, Raleigh could ag-ain 
turn his attention to the settlement of America, it was too late 
to save the colony. An expedition sent oilt to succor it found 
the word " Croatoan" written upon a. post. This may have meant 



THE LEGENDS OF THE NORSEMEN 31 

that the settlers had gone to a place of that name where a chief 
called Manteo and friendly Indians lived. Possibly they were 
massacred on the way by hostile Indians lying in ambush. In 
spite of its unhappy fate, this "lost colony" is of great interest 
to us. It was here in 1587 that the first child of English parents 
was born in the New World. She was the granddaughter of the 
artist and author, John White, governor of the colony, and her 
name was Virginia Dare. It is interesting to know, also, in 
connection with this "lost colony," that Thomas Hariot, who 
invented some of the "signs" we use in arithmetic and algebra, 
was with this expedition. Hariot has left us interesting accounts 
of the roots, fruits, fish, fowls, etc., that the Indians ate, and of 
their dress, dyes, customs, and religion. He wrote: "Some of 
our company shewed themselves too furious in slaying some of 
the people in some To^\^les, upon causes that on our part might 
have been borne with more mildness ; notwithstanding they justly 
deserved it. ' ' 

It was from Roanoke that the first party of Englishmen took 
back the potato, which Sir Walter Raleigh planted on his estate 
in Ireland, and which, as the "Irish'' potato, has since become 
a staple article of food throughout the world. 

The Legends of the Norsemen. — Longfellow's attractive 
poem, ' ' The Skeleton in Armor, ' ' will bring to mind the more or 
less legendary adventures of the Norsemen on the shores of the 
North American continent, nearly five hundred years before 
the landing of John Cabot in 1497. As will be recalled, Leif 
Ericson is the central figure of these legends of discovery. It is 
told in the "sagas" or Scandinavian stories of adventure that 
about the year 1000 he sailed from Norway to Iceland, and, in 
continuing his voyage to Greenland, discovered this continent, 
whither he conducted a number of expeditions. One legend tells 
of the Norsemen having wintered their cattle free from snow, 
from which it might be inferred that at least one party of them 
attempted a settlement farther to the south. In the sagas there 
are also narrated such remarkable stories of wild scenes and 
adventures that it is impossible to separate myth and imagination 
from what may be fact or history. It must also be borne in mind 



32 GENESIS OF THE UNITED STATES 

that these stories were written some two or three hundred years 
after the voyag'es thus described were undertaken. 

In the midst of the text of the older histories it has always 
proved more or less confusing- to read about the formation of the 
Plymouth Company and the London Company as the two divi- 
sions of the Virginia corporation, and of their rival patents 
in America. 

The Plymouth Company. — The Plymouth Company at- 
tempted settlement on the Kennebec River in the summer of 1607, 
but the surviving colonists returned to England in the spring 
of 1608. This Company made no further effort at settlement, 
although, in 1614, it employed Captain John Smith to explore the 
northern coast. Smith drew maps of his explorations and changed 
the name of the coast northeast of the Hudson from Northern 
Virginia to New England. The Plymouth Company had also 
been called the Northern Virginia Company, but, in 1620, it was 
reorganized by Raleigh, Gilbert, and others as the Council for 
New England. As such it was concerned with grants to the 
settlers of Plymouth (New England) and Massachusetts Bay. 

"Anglo=Celtic" Compared with "AngIo=Saxon." — As pos- 
sibly a better term for people of English-speaking origin, the 
compound word ''Anglo-Celtic" is coming into use instead of 
"Anglo-Saxon." Anglo-Celtic, when used in this way, is more 
comprehensive and accurate. The Angles and Saxons Avere but 
two of the tribes that migrated to Britain in the fifth and sixth 
centuries. In Britain they intermarried with the remaining 
Celts of that island. This union of the Celts with the Saxons, 
Angles, and Jutes was fortunate for both races in that the best 
qualities of either race developed in their offspring. The rougher 
characteristics of the Teuton emigrant on Britain's soil became 
softened by the more emotional and imaginative temperament of 
the Celt. Hence, it is that English history seems to show that 
when these races have harmoniously mingled, literature and gov- 
ernment and the whole social structure have been benefited 
thereby. Sir Edwin Sandys and William Shakespeare were 
Anglo-Celtic, and we cannot picture them as being so gifted with- 
out this union of the races in their blood. Their ideas were forced 
to find some way to burst the bonds of mediaeval custom ; and to 



ATTITUDE OF SPAIN TOWARDS ENGLISH 33 

them America became the Land of Opportunity, or, in their own 
words, a ''Providence cast before them." Thomas Jefferson, also 
of AnglO'Celtic ancestry, was, in the New World, the political 
descendant of Sir Edwin Sandys, as well as the blood relative 
of liberal Englishmen who suffered death or imprisonment under 
the Stuart kings. Perhaps it is due to the influence of the Celt 
that the English-speaking peoples have ever referred to the land 
of their origin as the Mother Country, whereas the Teutonic 
peoples have referred to theirs as the Fatherland. 

Associates of Sir Edwin Sandys. — Among the associates of 
Sir Edwin Sandys and the Earl of Southampton, or those inter- 
ested in planning for a ' ' free popular State ' ' in the New W^orld, 
may be mentioned, for reference : Sir Francis Bacon and Sir 
Henry Hobart, who may be described as the chief ' ' counsel ' ' for 
the London Company; the Earls of Lincoln, Pembroke, and 
Exeter, Lord De la Warr, Sir Oliver Cromwell, an uncle of the 
leader of the ''Great Rebellion" against Charles I; William 
Shakespeare, and John and Nicholas Ferrar, who helped to pre- 
serve the few precious records saved from the destroying hand 
of King Jamesi — records which are now beginning to be used in 
the new interpretation of the origin of self-government in 
America. In England, many of the descendants of these men, 
inheriting the spirit of their fathers, openly protested against 
the course of George III in 1765-1775, in pursuance of which he 
provoked the American Revolution. It is interesting to know, 
also, that the Sandys family became connected by marriage with 
the Washingtons of Sulgrave Manor, so that the "Founder of 
America" may be said thus to be a connection of "the Father 
of His Country. ' ^ 

Attitude of Spain Towards English Settlement. — The ap- 
parent weakness of the first colony saved it from at least one peril. 
Spain had ever been jealous of any intrusion upon her claims to 
the New World, and the Spanish seriously contemplated attacking 
Jamestown. The records show that their Ambassador in London 
repeatedly urged his master at Madrid to have "those insolent 
people in Virginia annihilated," adding that such a course 
"would be serving God to drive these villains out and hang 
them.'' On the other hand, the Spanish spies in the New World 
3 



34 GENESIS OF THE UNITED STATES 

reported that the colony was failing and would fall of itself; 
therefore, they said, it would not need any measures which would 
involve war with Great Britain. 

Direct Cause of the Dissolution of the London Company. — 

In 1623, James I sent a Royal Commission over to Jamestown to 
make a confidential report to him on the real state of affairs in the 
Colon3\ On their return, James was convinced that the ' ' divine 
right of kings ' ' was in real danger from the growth of the spirit 
of democracy in Virginia. He, therefore, declared his intention 
forthwith ''to reduce that popular form of government so as 
to make it agree with the monarchical form which was held in the 
rest of our Royal Monarchie.^' The report of this Commission led 
directly to James's action in dissolving the London Company. 

George Thorpe, the First Teacher of the Indians; the 
First College. — An interesting character at Jamestown was 
George Thorpe, scholar and former member of Parliament, who 
was given charge of the lands of Henrico College, where he labored 
to convert and educate the Indians. He built a home for Ope- 
chancanough, Powhatan's treacherous brother, the front door 
of which was provided with a lock and key. We are told that the 
Indian Chief's principal delight was to open and reopen the lock 
a hundred times a day, for he thought "no device in the world 
com.parable with it." The College was destroj^ed and Thorpe 
was slain by the Indians in the massacre of 1622. Money for the 
erection of Henrico College had been subscribed in both England 
and Virginia. Two departments were established, a college for 
the education of the Indians and a free school preparatory 
department. 

First Literature. — A traveler, author, and poet of note in 
England was George Sandys, who came over to Virginia in 1621 
and returned to England several years later. He was a member 
of the Council in the new colony, and, while in Virginia, prepared 
a large part of his poetic translation of Ovid 's ' ' Metamorphoses, ' ' 
which was ''imprinted" in London in 1626. 



CHAPTER II 

Beginnings of New England 

i. the coming of the pilgrims ^ 

In England, the closing years of the sixteenth century 
and the first part of the seventeenth marked the begin- 
ning of a period of political and religious unrest. Dis- 
satisfaction with the autocratic conduct of King James I 
had led to the settlement of Virginia, as set forth in the 
previous chapter; but there is also ample evidence to show 
that the same men who planned political freedom in 
America disapproved of the intolerant attitude of the 
authorities of the Church of England personally 
appointed and directed by the King. The more jrcrowS" 

,1 nn ' 1 (* 11 1 1 T Slid Church 

rigorous the oinciais oi the church and govern- 
ment, the more widespread grew the feeling of opposition. 
Those who thought a new church should be established 
were called Separatists or Independents. On the other 
hand, those who wished to simplify the government and 
ceremonies of the Anglican church, and thus *^ purify^' it, 
were called Puritans.- 

^ The chapter is divided into three distinct parts. ( 1 ) The pioneer 
Pilgrim settlement and (2) the subsequent Puritan immigration should be 
clearly differentiated in the mind of the student or reader. The reasons for 
this differentiation are made clear as the narrative develops. Thereafter 
follows (3) the distinctive expansion, along differing religious and politi- 
cal lines, of the three important colonies of Rhode Island, Connecticut, and 
New Hampshire. 

^ It is important to remember that, even as late as the seventeenth cen- 
tury, almost everyone, whether they were persecutors or persecuted, be- 
lieved that others should he forced to think or believe as they thought or 
believed. Holland, in large measure, was different, but it remained for 
Maryland and Rhode Island to lead the way towards religious liberty. 

35 



36 BEGINNINGS OF NEW ENGLAND 

To the high authorities of the Church of England, 
the Separatists seemed at first the more dangerous body. 
They had been persecuted under Queen Elizabeth. A 
few had early fled to Holland, where others joined them 
from time to time. There they might have stayed indefi- 
nitely but for the coming of certain more adventurous 
leaders from the village of Scrooby in eastern England. 
These, with their followers, joined the exiles in 1608, the 
year after the sailing of the first colonists to Virginia. 
Falling into some disagreement with their compatriots 
at Amsterdam, they subsequently moved to Leyden. At 
Leyden they were joined by more Separatists or Inde- 
pendents, who were, in turn, driven out of England, for 
James I had declared, in answer to the petitions of the 
Separatists: ^'I will make them conform themselves, or 
I will harry them out of tne land, or else do worse.'' 

In Holland, these ^ ' Pilgrims, ' ' as they are now known, 
were able to enjoy a greater measure of religious freedom 
Refuge than, in that day, they could have had under any 
in Holland q^^qy government. Nevertheless, they felt that 
they were living in a foreign country and that their cliil- 
dren would gradually drop their English speech and 
would take up the language, customs, and nationality 
of the Dutch. 

"William Bradford, the faithful historian of the *' Pil- 
grims," gives their reasons for their great desire to avail 
themselves of the invitation of Sir Edwin Sandys and 
the London Company to remove to America ^ : 
for^Le^aving They dcsircd an easier livelihood; they wished 
their children to be removed from what they felt 
were the lax ways of the Dutch, so different from their 

'See page 6. 



SANDYS AND LONDON COMPANY OFFER AID 37 

own strictness of conduct; and they wished to preserve 
their own distinctive relig^ious principles. To these 
reasons may be added two others : a desire to remain 
Englishmen; and, in 1620, the fear of the recurrence of 
the war between Holland and Spain. ^ 

It was largely throug-h the interest of Sir Edwin 
Sandys that Bradford, Brewster, and their compatriots 
were able to secure a (jrant of land and a charter from 
the London Company. Sandys even went 
so far as to draw up a provisional plan of f^^ fh^^^ sandys 
government for them, while certain of his off"ef aw""'''^'''' 
friends urged the King to aid the proposed 
settlement by granting tJte Separatists the privilege of 
maintaining their own form of worship. Unfortunately, 
Sandys and the other ' ^ Founders of Liberty ' ' in America 
had fallen into great disfavor with the King. Further- 
more, the means of the Pilgrims had failed, and they were 
obliged to borrow money from some English merchants 
for the equivalent of seven years' service and a division 
of profits.^ 

In July, 1620, Bradford, Brewster, and a number of 
the ''stoutest-hearted" of the exiles in Leyden set out 

* " They lived here," wrote Bradford, " but as men in exile, and in a 
poor condition; and as great miseries might possibly befall them in this 
place, for the twelve years of truce were now out, and there was nothing 
but beating of drums, and preparing for war, the events whereof are always 
uncertain. The Spaniard might prove as cruel as the savages of America, 
and the famine and pestilence as sore here as there, and their liberty less to 
look out for remedy." 

^ James I refused to grant the colonists a charter ; but considering the 
narrowness of the King and his antagonism towards those who did not 
accept his political and religious tenets, it is remarkable that he permitted 
the Pilgrims to make a start at all. That they did go seems to argue well 
for the persistence and influence of the liberal party of the day. 



38 BEGINNINGS OF NEW ENGLAND 

for Pl>Tnouth (England) in the Speedwell, a small vessel 
of some 60 tons burden. At Plymouth they were joined 
Sailing of ^y fellow-countrymen in the Mayflower, 180 
the Mayflower ^^^^^ 5^^]-^ vessels Set out for America, but 

the captain of the Speedivell declared that his boat could 
not be trusted, so that both vessels were obliged to turn 
back. The Pilgrims, undismayed by the last of a great 
number of heart-breaking discouragements during sev- 




ON THE iMAYFLOWER, PROVINCETO'WN HARBOR, NOV. 21, 1620 

eral years, finally set out in the Mayfloiver, September 16. 
On board were the crew and 102 passengers, *'some of 
whom,'' ran Bradford's chronicle, *'were not tempered 
altogether to godliness," but '^shuffled in upon us." All 
were under the spiritual guidance of Brewster and the 
military leadership of Captain Miles Standish.^ 

The grant of land secured from Sir Edwin Sandys 

" It is interesting to compare the tonnage of the Speedwell and the May- 
flower with that of the Sarah Constant- {100) , the Goodspeed (40), and the 
Discovery (20). The English vessels were, as a rule, very much smaller 
than those which crossed the Atlantic under th-e flag of Spain. The num- 
ber of passengers brought over in 1607 in the three smaller ships was almost 
exactly the number brought in 1620 in the larger Mayflower. 



THE MAYFLOWER COMPACT 39 

and the London Company lay between the Delaware and 
the Hudson rivers. There the Pilgrims intended to make 
their settlement, but the captain of the Mayflower de- 
clared he had lost his reckoning, so that they made land 
on November 21 on the coast of New England. The 
captain further declared that the stormy autumn winds 
and the dangerous shoals off Cape Cod made it unwise to 
continue the voyage. Here, therefore, he anchored, and 
for some weeks the colonists explored the coast in small 
boats. Finally, they disembarked, December 21, at a place 
which Captain Smith had already named Plymouth. 

In the meantime, the Pilgrim leaders had drawn up for 
the colony a form of government known as the Mayflower 
Compact. That they were beyond the bounds of the grant 
of the London Company had been brought ^j^^ Mayflower 
home to them by the fact that ^'some of the ^°™p^*^* 
strangers let fall mutinous speeches" in which they 
threatened ^'to use their own libertie. " It was to pre- 
vent the irresponsible action of individuals and to estab- 
lish orderly government that the Pilgrims drew up the 
famous '^Compact" which established for them an admir- 
able form of self-government.'^ 

John Carver was chosen, or rather confirmed, as their 
first Governor. Then, ^^ after they had provided a place 
for their goods . . . and begunne some small cot- 
tages, as time would admitte, they mette and consulted 
of lawes and orders." 

Bradford has left us a simple but expressive picture 
of the difficulties facing the first New England settlers. 

'' The " strangers " referred to were doubtless those who had been " shuf- 
fled in upon us." See above. This self-government was marred by the 
simultaneous establishment of the communal system. 



40 BEGINNINGS OF NEW ENGLAND 

* * All things, ^ ^ he wrote, ^ ^ stand upon them with a weather- 
beaten face; and the whole countrie, full of woods and 
thickets, represented a wild and savage hiew [hue]. . . . 
In 2 or 3 months time, halfe their company dyed . . . 
wanting houses and other comforts ; and of the rest in 
the time of most distress, ther was but 6 or 7 sound per- 
sons '' to care for all the sick and dying.^ 

In spite of the terrible mortality among the colonists 
in the winter of 1621, no one returned home with the 
Mayflower in the following spring. The Pilgrims ' splen- 
did motto was, in the words of their historian: " TJiat 
Courage Amid ^^^ (jreate and Jionourable actions must he 
Hardships enter prised and overcome with answer- 
able courages/' 

High hopes had been held out to the Pilgrims by John Robin- 
son, their pastor in Holland, and by others at home, of following 
a comparatively easy road to wealth b^^ means of the fisheries and 
the fur trade, but the colonists in the New World had all they 
could do to build their houses and plant and gather enough food 
with which to live and keep up their homes. The supplies ex- 
pected from their London merchant partners were slow in coming 
and insufficient. The European grain which they tried in Amer- 
ica had generally failed, so that a supply of Indian corn, which 
was brought to the Pilgrims by a friendly native, with instructions 
for planting it, was the chief dependence of the colonists for 
cereal food. 

Again, just as at Jamestown, the colonists were ham- 
pered by the communal plan laid down for them at the be- 
ginning. When, therefore, famine threatened in the third 
year, the Pilgrim leaders abandoned the system wdiich had 
proved wholly futile in Virginia (page 12). Bradford, 

^ Of tlie eio^liteen married women who disembarked from the Mayflower 
in December only four were alive by the following May. 



THE COMMUNAL SYSTEM 41 

who had succeeded Carver as Governor, has recorded that 
after he had, in 1623, done away with the plan of holding 
property in common, and, after he had ''assigned to every 
family a parcel of land,'' a new spirit was 
shown by the settlers. He adds that all be- iyltem"'"'""^^ 
came very industrious and ''more corn was 
planted than otherwise would have been by any means the 
Governor or any other could use. ' ' All went willingly into 
the field to work, whereas many had hitherto complained 
of weakness or inability. He further writes that ex- 
perience with the communal system, ''tried sundry years, 
and that amongst godly and sober men, showed clearly the 
vanity of a system which was found to breed much con- 
fusion and discontent/' ^ 

After the unfortunate communal plan had been aban- 
doned, the colony began to prosper, although its actual 
growth in numbers was slow in comparison with the over- 
whelming tide of Puritan immigrants which began five 
years later and which soon "swallowed up" the pioneer 
Plymouth colony. The small Plymouth settlement had 
far less direct influence upon the development of Ameri- 
can ideas than had that of the Puritans, but what may be 
called the indirect influence and example of the Pilgrim.s 
stands for more, perhaps, in American tradition and 
teaching. The supreme service of the Pilgrims lay in 
pointing the way for the greater immigration that fol- 
lowed them to New England shores, and the example of 

" This arrangement for individual labor and property applied only to 
agricultural produce. These " parcels of land " did not at this time become 
private property. Only their temporary use was given. It was not until 
fourteen years later, after Bradford and certain associates had paid off the 
colonists' debt to the London merchants that final division was eiTected. 



42 BEGINNINGS OF NEW ENGLAND 

straight living, courage, and devotion to principle which 
they set for all time. 

II. THE COMING OF THE PURITANS 

Beginning with 1623, and for a few years thereafter, 
efforts were made to colonize in New England on com- 
mercial lines. In 1627, John White, one of these commer- 
cial colonists, returned to England and organized a 
company of merchants of Dorchester and London to take 
up on a larger scale the work of trade and colonization. 

This group of merchants was then incorporated under 
the name of The Company for Massachusetts Bay. Early 
in 1628, the Company bought from the New 
M°aSachuse«s ^ England Couiicil (successor to the old Ply- 
mouth Company in England ^^) the territory 
between the Charles and the Merrimac rivers, and, during 
the summer, it sent out some sixty settlers under John 
Endicott, a Puritan and a man of rank in England. i| 

After securing a charter from Charles I, the Com- 
pany, by the authority thus obtained, appointed Endicott 
Governor of the new settlement at Salem, and sent out 
200 new colonists. These colonists were under the leader- 
ship of the Puritan minister, Francis Higginson. There- 
after, the Puritans, constantly growing in numbers in 
England, began to look towards America as a land of 
refuge from the " harrying '^ of Crown and Church. Not 
only were the merchant classes revolting against the j; 
tyranny of Charles I, but men ^'accustomed to exercising i 
authority'' were also joining the new movement. j 

"Page 32. The Earl of Southampton and Sir Thomas Gates became 
members of the New England Council in 1620. 



THE MASSACHUSETTS BAY COMPANY 



43 



These men, profiting by the experience of the colonies 
at Jamestown and Plymouth, determined that when they 
emigrated, they would be sure to carry with them not only 
a charter but also the gov- 










Copyright 1887 by W. I,. Williams. 

OLD FORT OF THE PURITANS 



eming body. It was, there- 
fore, proposed that the 
Company itself he trans- 
ferred to American soil 
with the settlers}^ John 
Winthrop was elected 
governor, and in the 
spring of 1630 — a notable 
year in New England and 
American history — Win- 
throp led several hundred emigrants to New England 
shores. He reached the settlements of Salem and Charles- 
town in June, where he found that the colonists py^j^^^s Take 
under Endicott and Higginson had lost one- 
third of their number by death during the 
previous winter. Upon learning these facts and the diffi- 
culties of self-support in the colony, several score of 
Winthrop 's men became discouraged, turned back home, 
or went elsewhere. Two hundred more died before the 
close of the year, but Boston and five other. new towns 
were established by those who remained.^ ^ 

Winthrop himself, while not discouraged, wisely took 
warning. Foreseeing the inability of the new settlers to 
feed themselves, he at once sent back a ship for supplies ; 
and tradition has it that in the following February, just 

'* See notes at end of chapter. 

^' Many of those who returned declared with marked emphasis, that 
they had been deceived by " the too large commendations " of New England 
which pastor Higginson had sent home the previous summer. 



Charge of the 
Massachusetts 
Bay Company 



44 



BEGINNINGS OF NEW ENGLAND 




as he was giving away his last measure of meal to a 
,,^^ ^ ^ starving* neia^hbor, the ship returned in time to 

"The Great 007 x 

Migration" gave the settlement. Meanwhile, however, those 
who had returned to England spread broadcast such 
stories of hardships in America that further emigration 

was cut off until fresh troubles at 
home gave a ^'new impetus" to 
emigration. This new impetus, be- 
gim in 1633, continued till, in 1640, 
the final phases of the struggle 
began between the people and 
Charles I. During this period, new 
colonists came over at the rate of 
three thousand a year.^^ 

Without referring now to the 
heroism and fine ^ ^ answerable cour- 
ages" of these Puritan colonists, 
their life seems to us to-day some- 
what dreary. It has been noted 
(page 44) that the milder Governor 
Bradford had suppressed the apparently haiTaless amuse- 
ments of Christmas Day, 1621 ; but it may almost be said 
that *^the strictness of the Pilgrims was but laxity in the 
eyes of some of the Puritan leaders." In any event, the 
Pilgrims appeared to have had a wider vision of 
religious toleration and a 
mission to the privilege of 
by the same token, inclined 



JOHN WTNTHROP 

Born near Groton, Suffolk, 
England, Jan. 12, 1588. Gov- 
ernor Massachusetts Bay Col- 
ony 1629. Re-elected yearly 
until 1634. Re-elected in 
1637-'40, and again in 1642-'3. 
Author: "The History of New 
England from 1630 to 1649. 
Died at Boston, Mass., March 
26, 1649. 



broader basis for ad- 
citizenship. They were, 
to be more democratic. 



Bradford, Brewster, and their following, were *'men ot 

"Of the events that followed in 1640, Winthrop wrote: "The Parlia- 
ment in England setting upon a general reform both in church and state 
. . caused all men to stay in England in expectation of a new world." 
See page 52 for reslew of events in England. 



VIEWS AND CUSTOMS OF THE PURITANS 45 

the masses." Winthrop, on the other hand, 
was an aristocrat, who assumed almost despotic customs of 
power, although he had ever an honest desire 
to use that power for the good of the Puritan plan. Event- 
ually, he and his associates, as men of rank, created a 
kind of oligarchy or a group that exercised almost abso- 
lute authority. As all were Puritans of the strictest sect, 
it was natural that they should wish to govern through 
the Puritan church, or, at least, make the privilege of citi- 
zenship rest upon membership in and admission to the 
Puritan church, to the exclusion of all who did not sub- 
scribe to its forms. Even then, Winthrop held, the prac- 
tice of government must he in the hands of a chosen few, 
the ^' elect" of the church and those ^^ selected" through 
social position and accustomed authority. Indeed, to the 
end. Governor Winthrop stoutly maintained that, "The 
best part of a cofmniinity is alivays the least; and of that 
best part, the wiser is alivays the lesser.'^ ^ " 

As Sir Edwin Sandys and the London Company had 
challenged the autocratic control of the King; and as 
Gabriel Archer, at Jamestown, had challenged the at- 
tempted ^^soveraigne rule" of John Smith, so did men 

" This is an interesting statement of belief in class rule, but it is on 
another principle that America was developed. This development was in 
accord with views advocated, in large measure, by Sir Edwin Sandys of the 
London Company and Captain Gabriel Archer of Virginia ; these views were, 
in due time, applied and extended by the leaders in the first colonial 
assembly at Jamestown, by Thomas Hooker and Thomas Jefferson. 

It may be added that there are to-day people in every walk of life who 
believe, to a greater or less extent, in class rule — the rule of dominance of 
their particular class, although this is contrary to the spirit of American 
institutions as expressed most comprehensively in The American's Creed 
(Appendix E.), in words derived directly from Jefferson, Marshall, Webster, 
and Lincoln, that the United States of America is " a government of the 
people, by the people, for the peopl-e," by which is meant all the people and 
not any one class or group. 



46 



BEGINNINGS OF NEW ENGLAND 



arise in New England to question the supreme author- 
ity of Governor Winthrop and his ^'Assistants'' in 
the government.^ ^ Reform was brought about and a 
greater degree of popular government assured 
Winthrop and to New Ensflanders through the same process 

Class Rule vs. . ^ ® . 

Representative that their f ellow-countrvmen had pursued m 

Government ^ ^ 

obtaining reforms from the English kings. 
In 1632, in the case of the '^Waterto^vn Protest," the set- 
tlers refused to vote money for purposes of defence until 

they were granted rights 

n\l^arQaZei-llni^tf^r^pe, ^^^ privileges in re- 
^ <^ J turn. After a number of 

From Avery's History ofthe United states and Its People Q + nrTYIV QPQQIATICJ WlfVl f Vl P 

Courtesy of The United States History Company, Cleveland bLOllliy fet^febiUllb Wltll LllL 

Autograph of Margaret, wife of Governor John nn^rpmnr pnrl hi<J AQdl^lf- 

Winthrop. That she was a great help to Gov- 'jOVei UOI aUQ UlS 2^Sblb L- 

ernor Winthrop is shown in his letters to her in q n fo i f autq a rl o.n\ (\ o.A ill q \ 

England before shejoined him in America. Her dHLb, ib Wafe UtJClUeU Llld L 

husband testified in his diary, after her death in • x j 

1647, that she was "specially beloved and HI mattCrS COncemmg 
honored of the country," . , . 

taxation each town 
should choose two representatives to act with the duly 
appointed magistrates. This first step of the Massachu- 
setts colonists towards representative government was 
followed by another in 1634. 

Alarmed at the high wages which laborers and artisans were 
getting in America in contrast wdth that which they had received 
in England, Winthrop and his ruling class passed a maximum 
wage act, by w^hich it was made unlawful for any carpenter or 
mason to take more than two shillings a day. Other laws were 
passed for the benefit of the property-owning class and a special 
one was directed ' ' at the wanderings of the poor man 's pig. ' ' By 

^* The Massachusetts Bay charter provided that important matters of 
government should be settled by the stockholders, of whom twelve had emi- 
grated to New England. These twelve men of rank, therefore, had authority 
to rule over the rest. At one time, authority to govern was held by only 
eight "Assistants." 



CLASS RULE VS. POPULAR RULE 47 

way of explanation, it should be said that the poor man hoped to 
support his pig part of the year in the woods, even at the risk 
of its being caught by wolves. The property owners did not want 
to go to the expense of fencing off their property ; so they had a 
law passed by which the poor man's porker could be legally 
seized by them should it stray out of the woods into their 
cultivated fields. 

By dint of persistence and threats of going elsewhere (to other 
colonies) the ''middle class" gained a further degree of repre- 
sentation in the making of laws. In this way, the Massachusetts 
colony slowly changed from a government by one man and a 
small group of assistants to a representative government con- 
trolled by at least a selected number of people. It was a long 
time, however, before Massachusetts adopted a form of govern- 
ment very much like a representative democracy.^^ 

The people of the Puritan colony were sharply differentiated 
into classes. There were: (1) gentlemen, meaning in those days 
men of rank with the title of Master; (2) freeholders ; (3) free 
unskilled laborers; (4) servants (indentured or not) ; and (5) 
slaves, both Negro and Indian. ^^ All persons in the various set- 
tlements were compelled to attend religious services. The churches 
were barn-like buildings, frequently \\dthout stoves, the members 
of the congregation bringing with them heated stones or hand 
stoves. Within the building, the boys sat on the pulpit stairs 
and in the gallery under the stem eye of the constable, who 
rapped them sharply over the head if they went to sleep during 

" In reply to the demand for a more popular form of government, Gov- 
ernor Winthrop declared that the people were simply " not qualified for such 
a business " — an expression not unlike the language of James I to the 
London Company that the matter of government " icas too high and great 
for pHvate men to manage." 

^ In the broadest and best sense of the word to-day, a " gentleman " 
may represent any class or group. In the words of Dr. John W. Wayland, 
" A gentleman " is one " whose conduct proceeds from good will 
whose self-control is equal to all emergencies; . . who speaks with 

frankness, but always with sincerity and sympathy, and whose deed follows 
his word; who thinks of the rights and privileges of others ratlier than his 
own, ... a man with whom honor is sacred and virtue safe." — Way- 
land: The True Gentleman. 



48 BEGINNINGS OF NEW ENGLAND 

the sermon, which was generally from three to four hours long. 
The girls and young women had special seats assigned to them, 
and, if they were found napping during the services, their faces 
were tickled by the tail of a rabbit fastened on the other end of 
the constable's stick used in rapping the boys. No one was 
permitted to work or amuse himself in any manner on Sunday, 
which at one time was strictly observed for a day and a half. 
Punishments for infractions of these rules were severe and con- 
sisted in fines, public exposure in the stocks, or exile. 

Nevertheless, in the midst of this narrowing' con- 
straint, the Puritan Fathers planned a system of educa- 
tion which was eventually to broaden the views of their 
children and enable them to exert great influence in 
spheres far beyond their own communities. In 1636, a 
college was planned at Newtown, which, two years later, 
received a bequest in the will of John Harvard. 
The town was called Cambridge, while the college 
was named after the donor of its first endowment. Har-. 
vard College grew into Harvard University, the oldest 
existing institution of learning in this country. The first 
printing press in the colonies was set up at Cambridge in 
1639 ; and, in 1640, there was printed on it the Bay Psalm 
Book, the first English book published in America.^^ 

III. BEGINNINGS OF EHODE ISLAND, CONNECTICUT, AND 

NEW HAMPSHIEE 

From its beginning, religious differences disturbed the 
Puritan colony of Massachusetts Bay. These differences 
the Puritan leaders were determined to suppress. It has 

^The earlier Henrico College in Virginia, destroyed in 1622, was suc- 
ceeded by William and Mary College in 1693. As before stated, George 
Sandys' translations, written at Jamestown in 1621-1624. were " imprinted " 
in London, page 34. 



FOUNDING OF RHODE ISLAND 49 

been stated (page 48) that, in comparison with the Puri- 
tans, the Pilgrims were inclined to* greater liberality of 
attitude or toleration. Possibly* as bearing out this state- 
ment, two "gentlemen" came to Plymouth in 1630 and 
were introduced to the leaders of the Puritan colony by 
Miles Standish, but, not being satisfied with their profes- 
sion of faith. Governor Winthrop refused to "receive" 
them. Others were sent back to England, without formal 
trial, on the ground that they were not fit persons, or that 
they held "divers dangerous opinions." 

As the Puritans were dissenters protesting against the 
usages of the Church of England, so, in turn, dissenters 
arose in protest against the authority of the Puritan 
Church in New England. The most noted of these dis- 
senters was Roger Williams, who had been for some time 
pastor of the church at Salem. He was a 

T T 1 T J i • T • • Roger Williams 

remarkable man and entertained views m and the Founding 

... .of Rhode Island 

advance of the times m which he lived. 
Among other things, he declared that land in America 
could not rightfully be granted by the king without the 
consent of the Indians, whose property, he contended, it 
originally was. He also maintained that a man was 
responsible for his religious opinions to God alone, and 
that "no one should be bound to worship or to maintain 
a worship against his consent." The former theory 
seemed to attack the very charter of the Massachusetts 
colony, and the latter directly denied the civil authority 
of the all-powerful Puritan theocracy, or government 
through the church. This last view, especially, the 
authorities at Boston would not tolerate, and preparations 
were made to send Williams to England. But when Cap- 
4 



50 



BEGINNINGS OF NEW ENGLAND 



tain John Underbill arrived at Salem in the winter of 
1636 to secure the person of the dissenting pastor, 
Williams had escaped into the wilderness. 

Braving starvation and winter weather, he made his 
way southward to the home of the Narragansett Indians, 
who became his fast friends. He procured from them a 
tract of land upon which, in 1636, be established, at a site 




ROGER WILLIAMS SHELTERED BY THE NARRAGANSETTS (FROM AN OLD PRINT) 

he called Providence, the beginnings of the colony of 
Rhode Island. Here, Williams and a handful of his fol- 
lowers were joined by others ; for in the same year that he 
fled from Salem, another noted disputant began, in Bos- 
ton, to teach doctrines that were obnoxious to the Puritan 
authorities. This disturber of the Puritan church was 
Mrs. Anne Hutchinson, who, with her followers, was later 
driven out of Boston. Mrs. Hutchinson and some of her 



SETTLEMENT OF CONNECTICUT 51 

adherents likewise bought land from the Indians and 
founded the towns of Portsmouth and Newport, also in 
Rhode Island. 

In 1633, the Dutch had established a fort at the present 
site of Hartford in support of a profitable fur trade on 
the Connecticut River. Eastward from 
their principal settlement at New Amster- the^'settiemenf o^" 
dam (New York) they claimed much of the 
territory of Connecticut ; but, in 1636, John Winthrop, the 
son of Governor Winthrop of Massachusetts Bay, built 
at the mouth of the Connecticut fortifications which con- 
trolled that river and forced the Dutch out of the Con- 
necticut Valley. 

During 1636 a great number of settlers poured into 
the Connecticut Valley. One of their leaders was Thomas 
Hooker, a Puritan clergyman. Like Roger Williams, 
Hooker held new views as to government. As we have 
seen. Governor Winthrop believed in government by a 
limited part of the people. Hooker believed that all the 
people should take part in the making and maintenance 
of government. Winthrop 's scheme of government 
created an aristocracy or the rule of a favored few. 
Hooker, on the other hand, was in favor of a representa- 
tive democracy, or a government, as far as possible, ^ ^ of 
the people, by the people, for the people.'' 

At first these new settlements were associated with the 
Massachusetts Colony; but, in 1639, several of them 
created a separate colony ivith a tvritten constitution. As 
this is said to be the first government of free people set 
up under a written constitution, Connecticut is sometimes 
called *Hhe Constitutional State.'' It still maintained 



52 



BEGINNINGS OF NEW ENGLAND 



this constitution when, in 1662, it was provided with a 
charter under Charles II. 

Some of Mrs. Hutchinson's followers fled northward 
and settled at Exeter, not far from settlements already 




MAP OF NEW ENGLAND; SHADED PORTIONS SHOW SETTLEMENTS IN MASSACHUSETTS, NEW 
HAMPSHIRE, RHODE ISLAND, AND CONNECTICUT 

beg-un under the grant made to Sir Ferdinando Gorges 
j^g^ and Captain John Mason. This territory of New 

Hampshire Hampshire was long under dispute between the 
heirs of Gorges and Massachusetts, but Massachusetts 
won control of that region as well as the settlements in 



THE NEW ENGLAND CONFEDERATION 53 

Maine. In 1643, Dover, Portsmouth, Exeter, and Hamp- 
ton, together with Salisbury and Haverhill, were organ- 
ized as the county of Norfolk. 

The year 1643 is a notable one in New England history 
in that it marked the organization of the New England 
Confederation, created by commissioners from Massachu- 
setts, Connecticut, New Haven, and Plymouth.^^ The 
Articles of this Confederation established "a firm and 
perpetual league.'^ Eight Commissioners — two from 
each colony— were elected annually to pass ^^^ j^^^ England 
upon matters of common concern ; i.e., with confederation 
power from the General Courts to determine upon war 
or peace, to divide spoils, and to admit new members ; but 
it was expressly declared that the general congress of 
delegates or commissioners could not ^'intermeddle^' with 
the government of any of the four separate colonies, which 
government was to be "reserved entirely to themselves.' ' 
It is interesting to note, also, that special provision was 
made for arbitration of any differences that might arise 
between any two of the colonies in the Confederation ; and 
provision was made for the surrender to the local authori- 
ties of any fugitive criminals and to their masters of any 
runaway ^ ' serv^ants ' ' or slaves.-^ 

^ The New Haven settlement was then separate from the Connecticut 
River settlements under Hooker's leadership. At Boston, as early as 1637, 
Hooker had proposed such a Confederation, but Connecticut, in particular, 
feared the sacrifice of some of the privileges of local self-government. The 
settlers feared the power of a central government more than they feared 
the attacks of Dutchmen or Indians. This love of local self-government and 
the fear of losing its privileges, together with the accompanying dread of 
an overpowering central authority, represent a feature of political opinion 
that runs through the, entire development of American institvitions. 

-^ This Confederation became merely an advisory body after 1653, when 
Massachusetts, being out-voted in a declaration of war against the Dutch, 
refused to furnish her quota of troops. By 1664, New Haven was absorbed 



54 BEGINNINGS OF NEW ENGLAND 

The need of some kind of union to act for the scattered 
settlements of tJie colonies became especialh^ urgent in 
1636; or the greatly increasing number of English set- 
tlers not unnaturally aroused the fears and jealousy of 
the Indians. The Wampanoags were faithful to their 
jj^g treaty made with the Pilgrims ; and the Narra- 

Pequot War gansetts wcrc held in check by Roger Williams, 
who risked his life to save his former Puritan persecutors ; 
but to the west of the Narragansetts were the Pequots, a 
powerful tribe which began to capture, torture, and kill 
the whites in the outlying settlements. After some un- 
successful attempts to subdue the Indians, the whites 
made a more determined effort in the spring of 1 637 under 
Captains Mason and Underbill. This time the English 
were well led and by forced marches surprised the Pequots 
in their great fort on the Mystic River. The entrances 
were blocked, the wigwams set on tire; and of several 
hundred native warriors, only five escaped. So complete a 
victory amazed the other Indian tribes, and no further 
attacks were made on the whites for nearly half a century. 

After the Pequot war, a number of the captured Indian 
warriors were shipped from the New England colonies 
and sold as slaves in the West Indies, where most of them 
perished miserably in the unaccustomed heat of the 
tropics. The women and children were held in servitude 



by Connecticut; and the Confederation passed out of existence when, in 
1684, Massachusetts lost her charter. 

The settlements of Rhode Island and New Hampshire applied in vain 
for admission into the Confederation. The Puritan leaders not infrequently 
referred to Rhode Island as a " sewer," while of New Hampshire, Governor 
Winthrop complained that those colonists " ran a. different course," and 
that they " had made a tailor their mayor, and had entertained one Hull, an 
excommunicated person, and very contentious, to be their minister." 



RELATIONS WITH THE INDIANS 55 

at home. As early as 1636, the ship Desire was built at 
Marblehead, Massachusetts, for the purpose of carrying 
on a slave trade in negroes captured or bought on the 
coast of Africa. These negroes were, in some 
instances, brought to New England ; but, for the ofThl"^ 

1 1 T • .? T^TT i -r T Slave Trade 

most part, they were sold m the West indies or 
in the English colonies in the South. This slave trade 
soon became very profitable to New Englanders engaged 
in it, and it continued to thrive for nearly two hundred 
years. In sermons and addresses, many of the Puritan 
leaders sought to justify a traffic which we now should 
consider very wrong, on the ground that the negroes, 
being not only heathen, but savages and often cannibals, 
were greatly benefited by a change to a very much better 
condition of servitude under civilized masters and Chris- 
tian influences. 

NOTES AND SIDELIGHTS 

Relations with the Indians.— Although they arrived on the 
New England coast at the most inhospitable time of the year, the 
Pilgrim colonists were at least fortunate in that a "plague" 
among the Indians some three years before had almost destroyed 
some of the native tribes in the northeast. This pestilence may 
have been the smallpox, which, from time to time, was brought 
over from Europe by the crews of fishing vessels. It spread 
like wildfire among the Indians, w^ho, like the whites, knew little 
or nothing about methods of combating it. In the following 
spring, however, friendly relations wdth their neighbors, the 
Wampanoag Indians, were established. These amicable relations, 
managed with prudence and fairness by the Plymouth settlers, 
were to continue for half a century. The chief of the Wampa- 
noags was Massasoit, and it is said that some years before one of 
this tribe, Squanto by name, had been carried off to England 
by Captain Smith. After being kindly treated, Squanto had been 
sent back to America, so that he proved useful to the Pilgrims. 



56 BEGINNINGS OF NEW ENGLAND 

He acted as an interpreter for them and showed them hoAv to 
plant corn, nsing fish for fertilizer in each hill, and he also 
showed them how to '^ dress and tend it" when it had sprouted/*' 

On the other hand, Canonicus, chief of the Narragansett 
Indians, sent the settlers a bundle of arrows tied in a snake-skin. 
Bradford immediately returned the skin filled with powder and 
.shot. This the Indians knew was the white man 's ' ' thunder and 
lightning'," and Governor Bradford's bold and ready reply con- 
vinced Canonicus that peace was the better policy. 

Mortality Among the Pilgrims. — It may naturally be asked 
why, in a colder and supposedly more healthful climate, almost 
if not quite as many settlers died in New England as at James- 
town, with its fever-bearing mosquitoes, its brackish and un- 
wholesome drinking water, and the constant warfare with the 
Powhatan Indians. The answer is that, like the Jamestown col- 
ony, the pioneer settlers in New England did not know how to 
adapt themselves to a wholly different climate, and doubtless 
the unaccustomed cold played its part in raising the death-rate. 
On the other hand, insufficient food, and food of the wrong kind, 
was responsible for sickness and death. The lack of fresh vege- 
tables and fruits produced scurvy and similar ills, which in many 
cases proved fatal, aggravated as these diseases were by the un- 
skillful treatment of that day. 

It is interesting to compare the accounts written by noted sur- 
vivors of the early days of each colony. During the summer of 
1607, George Percy wrote from Jamestown as follows: ''Our men 
were destroyed with cruell diseases . . . and by Warres. . . . 
There were never Englishmen left in a forreigne Countrey in such 
miserie as wee were in this new discovered Virginia." At Ply- 
mouth, Bradford wrote of the first winter following the landing 
of the Pilgrims : ' ' But it pleased God to vissite us then, with death 
dayly, and with so generall a disease, that the living were scarce 
able to burie the dead ; and the well not in any measure sufficiente 
to tend the sick. ' ' 

Timely Help from Virginia. — As at Jamestown, the Pilgrims 
had their serious ''starving time," and once they thought that 

'** Compare reference to Chanco, page 87. 



NO WORK, NO PLAY 57 

they would have been ^ ' undone ' ' but for the timely arrival from 
Virginia of supplies brought thither by a fishing vessel from the 
first colony. It so happened that some of the visitors were sur- 
vivors of the terrible massacre of 1622, which had taken place a 
few weeks before.^ ^ Their captain, John Huddleston, thus 
warned the Pilgrims against similar dangers: ''Friends, country- 
men, and neighbors: . . . Bad news doth spread itself too 
far ; yet I will so far inform you that m^^self , with many good 
friends in the south colony of Virginia, have received such a 
blow, that 400 persons will not make good our losses. Therefore, 
I do intreat you (although not knowing you) that the old rule 
which I learned when I went to school, may be sufficient. That 
is, ' Happy is he whom other men 's harm doth make to beware. ' ' ' 

Oceanus Hopkins. — ^Another connection with the Jamestown 
colonists lay in the relationship of one of the Pilgrims, Stephen 
Hopkins, to both settlements. Stephen Hopkins had been one of 
those who had embarked upon The Sea Venture in 1609, and 
after the shipwreck of that vessel on the coast of the Bermudas 
(page 16) , had finally arrived at Jamestown. Subsequently, he re- 
turned to England and joined the Pilgrims. He and his wife, 
Elizabeth, set out in the Mayflower for the New World. During 
the voyage a child was born to them, who was aptly 
named Oceanus. 

The First Thanksgiving. — For many years it has been the 
custom for the President of the United States to set apart one day 
in every year for ''Thanksgiving." Thus there has been insti- 
tuted a national feast day, and it is interesting to know that it 
has come down to us from the first Thanksgiving proclamation 
issued by Governor Bradford after the first crops had been 
gathered by the Pilgrims in 1621. 

No Work, No Play. — The Pilgrims were a very ' serious- 
minded people and did not indulge in celebrations of the old 
feast days of the church and the people of England. Even 
Christmas was to them no season for merry-making. Neverthe- 
less, in December, 1621, some of those in the colony informed Gov- 
ernor Bradford that it was against their conscience to work on 

" Page 86. ~ 



58 BEGINNINGS OF NEW ENGLAND 

that day, to which Bradford replied that if they thought it wrong 
to work he would not compel them '^till they were better in- 
formed.' ' Bradford and the other colonists then set off to their 
work for the da3^ When they returned, however, they found the 
conscientious objectors ''pitching the bar," "playing at ball." 
and "like sports." Bradford promptly "took away their imple- 
ments," by which he meant their bar and the ball or whatever 
other things they had, and then told the offenders that it was 
against his conscience for them to play while others worked. 
The Governor seems to have been successful in suppressing amuse- 
ments of this kind, for, some years later, we find him writing 
of this event with apparent satisfaction : ''Since which time noth- 
ing has been attempted that way, at least openly. ' ' 

Captain Smith's Offer to Guide the Pilgrims. — Captain 
John Smith oft'ered to guide the Pilgrim Fathers to the New 
World ; the Pilgrims, however, did not accept his offer. Smith 
told the story, in part, as follows: "Some hundred of your 
Brownists of England, Amsterdam, and Lej'-den, went to New 
Pl^^mouth, whose humorous ignorances caused them, for more 
than a year to endure a wonderful deal of miser}^ with an 
infinite patience ; saying my books and maps were much better 
cheap [cheaper] than myself to teach them Such humor- 
ists will never believe well, till they be beaten with their 
own rod." ^- 

Conditions in England. — Shortly after he had dissolved the 
London Company in 1624, James I died and was succeeded by 
Charles I. The latter had his father's idea about the " divine 
right" of kings, and after some stormy times with Parliament, 
he dismissed that body and determined to govern without it. This 
he did from 1629 to 1640, when lack of funds compelled him again 
to call Parliament. It was during this period that emigration 
to America reached high tide, but especially was this true of the 
emigration to New England. In 1640, however, with the calling 
of Parliament, conditions changed. In 1642 open hostility broke 

'^ Separatists were sometimes called '" Brownists " after the name of 
one of their leaders. " Humorists " is here used in the old sense of " per- 
sons having humors, or distempers; fanatics." 



POLITICAL INDEPENDENCE OF THE PURITANS 59 

out between the leaders of the Parliamentary party and the 
King and his followers. In the course of the struggle, the war 
began to assume a distinctly religious as well as a political char- 
acter. In the end, Charles I was defeated, beheaded, and a 
Commonwealth set up under the direction of Cromwell. 

During the period of the King's personal rule, the Puritans 
fled the country, chiefly to New England. After the Common- 
wealth was established, conditions, in turn, became intolerable 
for Church of England people and former Royalists, so that 
these, called Cavaliers, emigrated to America, chiefly to those 




OLD HARVARD COLLEGE (FROM ETPHING BY PAT L KEVERE) 

colonies established south of the Hudson. In 1660, Richard 
Cromwell, the son of the Protector, having failed in carrying on 
the government, was set aside, the Commonwealth was done away 
with, and Charles II was restored to the throne of his father. 
Charles II, however, while autocratic by nature, had learned 
something of the ''dangerous temper" of the British people, and 
it remained for his successor, James II, so to outrage the sense 
of Parliament and people as to lead them to overthrow the Stuart 
kings for all time, an event which affects particularly the theme 
of later chapters. 

Political Independence of the Puritan Colony. — From the 
beginning, the independence of the Puritans in the Massachusetts 
Bay settlement was remarkable, but the steps taken to maintain 



60 BEGINNINGS OF NEW ENGLAND 

their independence of the home government were even more 
unusual. They were ready to fight for their independence at 
any time, but, fortunately, they were not forced to make an 
open break with the Crown because of the constant difficulties 
which Charles I was facing at home.-* 

Very soon after landing, Winthrop's colony came into con- 
flict with the prior claims of Sir Ferdinando Gorges (page 58). 
The King's Council decided in favor of Gorges, and Charles I 
made Gorges "Governor General" of all New England and or- 
dered the surrender of the Massachusetts Charter, just as James I 
had done in the case of the London or Virginia Company (page 
21). At once, however, appeared the wisdom of the earliest plans 
of the Puritans, who had profited by the experiences of their pre- 
decessors. In demanding the charter, the King discovered that 
he could not immediately lay his hands on it, for the reason that 
it was in America, three thousand miles away (page 46). 

A series of royal orders were thereupon sent to America 
demanding the Massachusetts Bay Charter. Each was met by 
some form of excuse or evasion on the part of the Puritan leaders, 
who decided, when they heard that Gorges was building a ship 
and gathering troops, "that if a general governor" be sent ^^we 
ought not to accept him, but defend our lawful possessions (if 
we are able) ; otherwise, to avoid or protract." 

By "avoiding" and "protracting" the matter, the colonists 
won. Time passed, and neither the King nor Gorges could get 
together sufficient money or troops; affairs in Britain became 
critical, and Charles I was compelled to call the Parliament that 
was to decree his fate. Meanwhile, it is interesting to note, the 
colonists had built sundry new fortifications, not on the frontier 
against the Indians, but on the coast against attack from the sea.-^ 

'^ It is a curious fact that it was under Cromwell, the successful leader 
of the popular rebellion against the tyranny of the King, that trade laws 
were passed designed to restrict the liberties of the colonists in America. 
Virginia had prepared to resist the emissaries of the Protector, when con- 
cessions were made to her; Massachusetts apparently acquiesced, but quietly 
ignored such restrictive acts. See page 13. 

^^ Hence the name Beacon Hill for the highest point in Boston looking 
seaward. 



BRADFORD'S OPINION OF ROGER WILLIAMS 61 

Origin of a Two=Hoiise Assembly. — ^Reference has been 
made (page 50) to the "wanderings of the poor man's pig." In 
the controversy between the "poorer sort" and the privileged 
class of the Puritan colony, great principles of government were 
the actual issues, but it so happened that one poor woman 's con- 
fiscated pig made a test case which helped to decide these great 
matters. A pig, once the property of a poor woman, had strayed 
onto the property of a well-to-do man, and had been seized and 
slaughtered. The w^oman brought suit against her neighbor. 
The Assistants, or men of rank in the General Court, voted for 
their well-to-do associate. The majority of the deputies, being 
of the middle class, just as regularly sustained the contention of 
the poor woman. Finally, the deputies insisted that they should 
sit separately in the discussion of all matters, because, they 
alleged, some of their number w^ere awed by the constant presence 
of men of rank. The Assistants agreed to a double House and in 
this w^ay w^as created a Two-House Legislature. Thus, says 
Winthrop, after three j^ears of dispute, "there fell out a great 
matter upon a small occasion." 

Rise of Democracy: Use of the Ballot. — The Deputies from 
the middle class had, in the first place, appeared prepared to 
transact busmess against the will of the aristocratic Assistants, 
but they steadily gained in power and privileges, just as had the 
House of Commons under the English King. The middle class 
found that they could withhold public funds unless granted 
privileges in return (see Watertown Protest, page 49). At first 
the Assistants agreed that the Deputies could make suggestions to 
the Assistants at the meetings of the General Court, but it was 
soon found that when the Deputies came, they had been appointed 
by the towns not only for the purpose of offering suggestions, 
but to make laws as well. And, it may be added, that as each 
community decided its ow^n affairs through vote of the "free- 
men," representatives of these freemen learned in time how to 
take care of themselves in the meetings of the General Court or 
colonial assembly. 

Governor Bradford's Opinion of Roger Williams. — While 
vehemently denounced and misunderstood by the Puritan leaders 



62 BEGINNINGS OF NEW ENGLAND 

and clergy, Roger Williams also failed to meet with the approval 
of Governor Bradford, who said of him "I desire the Lord to 
show him the error of his ways." A^ain, while the Puritans 
were sure that Williams was condemned by his own words and 
acts, Bradford adds, in milder vein : ^ ^ I hope he belongs to 
the Lord. ' ' 

Williams had been driven out of England by Archbishop Laud 
and had been at first welcomed by Winthrop in 1631. He first 
preached in Boston, and then at Plymouth, before he finally went 
to Salem. In fairness to the severe action of the Puritans, it must 
be said that Williams did not spare language in the course of his 
disagreement with the latter. Wc may scarcely blame the Puritan 
clergy if they objected to being held up to public scorn as ' ' false 
hirelings" and their congreg'ations as "ulcered and gangrened." 
But, in those daj^s, few people anywhere made use of mild terms 
of reproach. Bradford's comments stand out among the shining 
exceptions. Again, when Williams said that the King had acted 
a "solemn lie" in giving away lands in America which did not 
belong to him, the colonists felt that such strong terms would 
get them into serious trouble with the Crown. 

Views of the Two Puritan Noblemen, Lords Say and 
Brooke. — In Great Britain, there were a few persons who, under 
the Puritan control of affairs, from about 1640 to 1660, voiced 
the thought of religious toleration entertained by Sir Edwin 
Sandys and his associates under James I (p. 17). At the later 
time. Lord Brooke wrote that a man who "doubts with reason 
and humility may not for aught I see he forced hy violence. . . . 
Can we not dissent in judgment, but we must also disagree in 
affection?" Lord Say and Lord Brooke attempted to establish a 
colony on broad lines in Connecticut, where we find the name 
of Saybrook given to the fort built by John Winthrop, Jr., at the 
mouth of the Connecticut River. 

Hooker vs. Winthrop and Cotton. — In response to the state- 
ment of Governor Winthrop that democracy was "unwarrant- 
able," Thomas Hooker replied that in matters which concern 
the common good, a general council chosen by all to transact 
business which concerns all, I conceive . . . most suitable to 



THE YEAR 1636 63 

rule and most safe for relief of the whole.'' He declared, also, 
that "the foundation of authority is laid in the consent of 
the governed.'" ^^ 

The Year 1636. — In New England, it may be said that the 
year 1636 corresponds in importance with that of 1619 in the his- 
tory of Virginia. 1636 marked the beginnings of the colonies of 
Rhode Island and Connecticut ; the Pequot war began in that 
year, and war was threatened with the mother country ; definite 
plans were made for education, and Harvard University was 
founded; the same year saw also the basis laid for the African 
slave trade of the New England colonies. 

^ The views of Thomas Hooker may be traced back to Sir Edwin Sandys 
(page 5), and through him to Richard Hooker of Oxford University, under 
whose guidance Sir Edwin Sandys liad pursued his studies. The phrase 
" consent of the governed " has achieved immortality in its connection with 
The Declaration of Independence. 

" In spite of wliat King James did in 1624, with the help of Warwick, 
Lionel Cranfield, Sir Thomas Smith, and the rest of the reactionaries, to 
rob the colony of its political rights and to destroy all evidence of the 
liberal purpos-e and achievement of the Virginia Corporation, the political 
principles that inspired Sandys, Southampton, Selden, Brooke, Sackville, 
Cavendish, the Ferrars, and all that noble company, never died out of Vir- 
ginia, never died out of the northern colony called New England. These 
were principles first logically developed and clearly formulated by the tutor 
of Sir Edwin Sandys, Richard Hooker. Disciples of Hooker, associates 
of Shakespeare, were the founders of the first republics in the New World." — 
Gayley : " Shakespeare and the Founders of Liberty in America." 



CHAPTER III 

Beginnings of the Middle Colonies, the Carolinas, 

AND Georgia 

After the discoveries of John Cabot in 1497-98, the 
English held to their claims to the Atlantic coast; but, 
before they could establish themselves from Jamestown 
northward, the Dutch had begun a fur trade with the 
Indians. In 1609, an Englishman, commanding a single 
small vessel in the service of the Dutch East India Com- 
pany, sailed into the harbor where stands to-day the 
greatest city in the world. This Englishman was Captain 
Henry Hudson, and his ship was called the Half Moon. 
He sailed up the river wiiicli bears his name in an effort 
to find a route to Asia. The effort was, of course, a fail- 
ure, but he returned to the Netherlands with a boatload 
of furs obtained from the Indians of the Hudson Valley.^ 

The Dutch Settle in ^^New Netherland'' 

Although trading posts were soon thereafter estab- 
lished by the Dutch, actual settlement did not begin till 
1623. The land claimed by the Dutch was called "New 
Netherland, " and colonization followed under the direc- 
tion of the Dutch West India Company. Although the 
fur trade flourished, the colony itself did not grow as 
rapidly as those of the English on either side. Conse- 
quently, in order to help settlement, the Dutch West India 
Company offered to give a large grant of land to any one 

* Sailing under the English flag, he afterwards discovered Hudson Bay. 
While there, his crew mutinied and set him adrift in an open boat. He was 
never heard of again. 
64 



THE DUTCH SETTLE IN ''NEW NETHERLANDS 65 




DTJTCH COSTUMES OF 
NEW NETHERi-^ND 



who was able to get fifty persons to go with him to live as 
tenants on his estate. The owners of these estates were 
called '^patroons,'^ and the chief 
Dutch settlement on Manhattan 
Island was called New Amsterdam. 
The patroons had many privileges, 
and there was little self-government 
by the people; moreover, the gover- 
nor appointed by the West India 
Company had almost absolute control 
in the colony. The settlers had no 
House of Burgesses, as in Virginia, 
or town meetings, as in New England. 
For the most part, the Dutch settlers wished to lead quiet, 
peaceful lives, while their wives prided themselves on 
their wonderfully clean-scoured homes and their good 
cooking. Several of their governors, however, were men 
of poor judgTuent, and one of them, William Kieft, pro- 
voked several attacks on the part of the Indians. 

Under Peter Stuyvesant, the last of the Dutch gover- 
nors. New Amsterdam was protected from the Indians by 
a high, strong fence along the line of what became known 
as Wall Street, now far *^ downtown'' in the city of New 
York. Stuyvesant was a hot-tempered old soldier who 
had lost a leg in fighting the Portuguese and Spaniards. 
He did not believe in any government "by the people'' 
and wished to rule with absolute power. New Amster- 
dam had a mixed population of many nationalities, yet 
he tried to prevent any worship but that of the Dutch 
Reformed Church. Accordingly, he began to punish dis- 
senters of all kinds, but in this he was overruled by the 

5 



66 BEGINNINGS OF THE MIDDLE COLONIES 

West India Company, which directed him to restore 

religious liberty as it 
then prevailed in 
Holland. 

The English, how- 
ever, had no intention of 
permitting the Dutch 
colony to interfere with 
the prior claims of John 
Cabot. In 1636 (page 

57) the Dutch were crowded out of New England, and, in 
1664, Charles II sent a fleet to New Am- 

SeTomts"''*''^'"' sterdam, which caught the settlement 
unprepared to offer effective resistance. 

Stuyvesant wanted to fight anyhow ; but the settlers would 

not uphold him, and New Amsterdam became New York, 




NEW AMSTERDAM IN 1667 




Copyrig^ht by Underwood <ft Underwood, New York City 

SKYLINE OF NEW YORK CITY FROM GOVERNOR'S ISLAND, THE SIGHT THAT MEETS THE 
IMMIGRANT ENTERING NEW YORK HARBOR 

SO named after the Duke of York, brother of Charles II, 
afterwards James 11. 

The English Take Possession of New Jersey 
In 1664, also, the English took formal possession of 
the count P}^ immediately south of the Hudson. This was 



NEW AMSTERDAM BECOMES NEW YORK 67 

made over by special grant to two English noblemen, Lord 
Berkeley and Sir George Carteret. The latter had been 
the Royalist governor of the island of Jersey in the Eng- 
lish Channel during the Civil War in Britain, and the 
new province was named New Jersey. The governors, or 
proprietors, granted the settlers a large measure of self- 
government, already enjoyed by so many Englishmen in 
America. Afterwards, the Society of Friends bought New 
Jersey and made a treaty with the Indians that was kept 
with remarkable good will on both sides. By 1702, how- 
ever, disputes as to land titles caused lawsuits, and the 
province was given over to the direction of the English 
crown. From that time till the Revolution the king 
appointed the governors ; and the last royal governor was 
William Franklin, a son of Benjamin Franklin, leader in 
the American revolt against George III. 

* ^ New Sweden ' ' Becomes Delaware 
In 1688, a number of Swedes settled on the west bank 
of the Delaware River. Here they built a fort which 
they named Christiana, in honor of Queen Christiana, 
the daughter of their great warrior king, Gustavus 
Adolphus. In 1654, Peter Stuyvesant descended upon the 
Swedes and seized ^^New Sweden" in the name of the 
"Netherlands. When Stuyvesant himself surrendered to 
the English ten years later. New Sweden became a part 
of the territory of the Duke of York. The latter sold it 
to William Penn, who called the territory thus acquired 
i i rjy^jQ Three Lower Counties on the Delaware. ' ' In 1776, 
these counties became the State of Delaware. 

Beginnings of Maryland 
In point of time, Maryland was the third colony founded 



68 



BEGINNINGS OF THE MIDDLE COLONIES 



by the English in the New World. Like the Plymouth 
colony, it owed its origin to religious persecution. In 
this case, those persecuted were the Catholics of England, 
who wished to worship in accordance with the ritual and 
beliefs of the Church of Rome, the temporal authority of 
which had been denied under Henr}^ VIIT, restored under 
Mary, and finally overthrown under Elizabeth in 1558. 

In many ways, the Roman Catholics 
were restricted with respect to politi- 
cal and religious privileges; so that 
George Calvert, first Lord Baltimore, 
asked Charles I for a tract of land in 
northern Virginia. Calvert, however, 
after attempting to establish a colony 
in Newfoundland, died in 1632, so that 
the task of colonization fell upon Cecil, 
second Lord Baltimore. In 1634, Cecil 
sent out his younger brother, Leonard, 
with about 300 settlers, to take posses- 
sion of a grant of land in the region 
north and east of the Potomac River, 
south of the 40th parallel, and extend- 
ing westward to the source of the 
Potomac. Calvert's colony landed on 
the west shore of the Chesapeake Bay 
and established a settlement at St. Mary's. They called 
their grant Maryland, after Henrietta Maria, the wife of 
Charles I. 

The colony was founded on the principle of religious 
freedom for all who professed the Christian faith. 
Roman Catholics, Church of England people, 
Puritans persecuted in Virginia, and Quakers driven from 




Avery's History 

GEORGE CALVERT 

George Calvert, first Lord 
Baltimore, and founder 
of Maryland. Born lobiU, 
Yorkshire, England. iStu- 
dent at Oxford. Knighted 
1617; secretary of state in 
1619. In 1625 joined the 
Catholic church. In 1621-2 
planted a colony in New- 
foundland. Sought settle- 
ment in Virginia (Mary- 
land), but died in 1632 
before the colony was 
established. 



Religious 
Toleration 



RELIGIOUS TOLERATION 69 

New England, were all free to worship as they chose. As 
all creeds were tolerated in the new colony from its be- 
ginning in 1634, Maryland led the English colonies in 
establishing religious liberty. The Governors, or Lords 
Proprietors, as the Calverts were called, Avere granted 
almost royal powers. The Lords Baltimore were given 
the right to coin money, Avage war, and even to confer 
titles of nobility; and it was further declared in the king's 
patent that the property of the people of Maryland should 
be forever free from taxation to the crown. From the 
first, the colonists shared in making their laws, and they 
soon demanded and secured the right to propose or origi- 
nate measures of government. 

The new settlement aroused the jealousy of some of the Vir- 
ginians at JamestoA\ai, who maintained that the Maryland grant 
infringed upon their charter rights and occupied a part of their 
territory. One of these Virginians, William Claiborne, had 
already established a trading post at Kent Island within the 
limits of Lord Baltimore 's grant. Although Claiborne was finally 
driven out of Maryland, he caused the Lords Baltimore a great 
deal of trouble for many years. 

In 1649, the Puritans under Oliver Cromwell triumphed over 
Charles I in the Civil War in England ; and, in 1654, the Puritan 
settlers in Maryland set np a form of government which dis- 
criminated against the Catholics. A battle took place on the 
Severn River in which the supporters of Lord Baltimore were 
defeated. Cromwell, however, restored Lord Baltimore to author- 
ity in tlie colony, and religious equality was enjoyed by all as 
before until, in 1689, the adherents of the Church of England 
got control in Maryland and, for a time, taxed all the people 
for its support.^ 

2 The "Toleration Act' of 1649 confirmed by law of the Maryland 
General Assembly the practice of religious toleration carried out from 
the beginning. 



70 BEGINNINGS OF THE MIDDLE COLONIES 

Beginnings of Pennsyi.vania 

In 1681, the Quakers, or Society of Friends, under the 
leadership of William Penn, established the colony of 
Pennsylvania. In the Old World, the Quakers had been 
persecuted for their religious and civil beliefs. Hence, 
like the Pilgrims, Roger Williams, and Lord Baltimore, 
they began to plan a colony of their own where they could 
worship in their own way without hindrance. In the 
seventeenth centur>^ these peaceable people were regarded 
with peculiar distrust. The Puritans believed that tliey 
were the chosen people of God ; and that, in the terms of 
the Old Testament, the heathen were their ^inheritance'' 
and could rightly be attacked, killed, or enslaved. The 
Quakers, on the other hand, held that all men were equal. 
Also, they followed what they believed to be a teaching 
of the New Testament that no resistance should be made 
even against an unprovoked attack. They would not, 
therefore, swear to defend their government or country in 
case, of war. Furthermore, they offended persons in 
authority by refusing to honor titles, and they would not 
remove their hats even before governors and kings. The 
Puritans had done away with nearly all the forms of the 
English Church ; but the Quakers wished to do away with 
the state-supported clergy also.^ 

It is remarkable that this persecuted sect should have 

^ George Fox, who was the founder of the Society of Friends, visited 
America in 1672, finding at that time a number of Quaker communities in 
practically all the colonies from Rhode Island to North Carolina. At about 
that time they had also invaded the Puritan colony in Massachusetts Bay, 
where they received considerable rough treatment, although they, in some 
cases, provoked this treatment by their own propensity for disputation in 
the Puritan churches. 



RELIGIOUS TOLERATION 



71 



secured from a Stuart king any grant of land in America, 
but, like the Catholics, the Quakers had an influential 
leader who was well and favorably known at court. 
Charles II owed William Penn, the most noted of the 
Friends in England, a great deal of money. Penn sug- 
gested that the debt could be paid by a grant of land in 
America. The extravagant Charles II, who was always 
in need of 
ready money, 
liked the idea 
and gave 
Penn a tract 
of land 
o f 48,000 
square miles, 
extend- 

ing west from the Delaware 
River. This was called Penn's 
Woods, or Pennsylvania. 
Charles II frankly told Penn 
that the American savages 
would put a quick end to the 
Quaker colonists, if he did not 
provide a regiment of soldiers 
to defend them. But Penn 
would not accept so much as a single gun. He believed 
that even the savages would respect fair treatment. 

Colonists landed in 1681 at New Castle (Delaware) 
and in New Jersey. The next year, Penn proceeded up 
the Delaware River and founded the ''City of Brotherly 
Love,'' or Philadelphia. This city he had planned before 
leaving England, and so orderly was it in arrangement 




THE MIDDLE COLONIES 



72 



BEGINNINGS OF THE MIDDLE COLONIES 



Penn's 
Frame of 
Government 



that it is said to be, from its beginning, the first American 
city having streets that were straight, and not constructed 
at random, as was the case with the older sections of 
every other large city in the East. 

At Chester, in 1682, Penn called the colonists together 
and drew up a Frame of Government, or what was called 
^'The Great Law" for the maintenance of peace and 
order. This ^^ Great Law" provided, among other things, 
for freedom of worship, in that no one who 
believed in God and lived peaceably and justly, 
^' shall in any wise be molested"; that every 
child, after reaching twelve years of age, should be taught 

some useful occupation ; that the death 
penalty should be visited upon a per- 
son not for almost every form of law- 
breaking, as was then the case in 
Great Britain, but for murder and 
treason only; and that the prisons 
should not be gloomy dungeons 
scarcely fit for beasts, but workshops 
and places of reform. 

Soon after drawing up ^ ' The Great 
Law," Penn made a treaty with the 
Indians which was not broken as long 
as the Quakers were in control of the 
colony, or for over forty years. Ap- 
parently, he had proved to Charles II 
the soundness of his belief that even 
savag^es would respect his unarmed 
settlement, if proper regard were had 
for the rights of the natives. Penn returned to England 
and died there in 1718. His colony, however, continued 




William Penn, founder of 
Pennsylvania. Born Lon- 
don, England, Oct. 14, 
1644. Son of Admiral Sir 
William Penn. Student at 
Oxford, where he was when 
he adopted the faith of the 
Quakers. Disowned by his 
father. Frequently impris- 
oned and constantly in 
controversy on religious 
questions. In 1675 first 
conceived of haven in 
America for his co-religion- 
ists. Died July 30, 17 IS. 



PENN'S FRAME OF GOVERNMENT 



73 



to grow and to attract many settlers other than those of 
the Society of Friends. By the time of the Revolution, 
Philadelphia had become one of the most important cities 
in the English colonies, and it became, also, the meeting 
place for manN^ notable assemblies. 

At the beginning of the Maryland colony, disputes had 




PENN S TREATY WITH THE INDIANS 

This treaty was kept with good will on both sides for many years. 

arisen with Virginia with respect to the invasion of the 
rights of the earlier colony. A similar dispute arose 
when Charles II made his grant to William Penn. This 
time, Maryland was the colony that felt aggrieved; for 
the grant made to Penn invaded the territory of Lord 
Baltimore. After many years of argniment, during which 
Penn was determined to maintain his outlet to the sea^ 



74 BEGINNINGS OF THE MIDDLE COLONIES 

a boundary line was marked off in 1767 by two surveyors 
named Mason and Dixon. This line came to be known as 
Mason and Dixon's Line, and the latter name may have 
given rise to the term '* Dixie, '^ so often applied to the 
southern section of the present Union. 

In 1663, Charles II granted the country between Vir- 
ginia and Florida to eight of his friends as ^' Lords Pro- 
prietors."^ In the preceding century, the French had 
named the country Carolina in honor of their king, 
Charles IX; and this name was retained by the 
orNorth"^ English in honor of the English king by that 
name. Permanent settlement in the present 
State of North Carolina was begun before 1660 by a num- 
ber of Virginians. The first settlers began to make homes 
for themselves in the territory lying between the Chowan 
and Roanoke rivers. Later, these pioneers were joined 
by Quakers and other Dissenters who wished to be free 
from the control of the Virginia church and government. 
In the development of the new country, the colonists en- 
joyed the freedom of frontier life in an open climate, so 
that they spent much of the year in hunting, fishing, and 
clearing ground. Such a life led them to set a high value 
on civil liberty and personal freedom; and those who, 
later, planned to limit this freedom found that they had 
to deal with a ' ' stubborn race. ' ' 

At this time a famous philosopher named John Locke, upon 
request of the Proprietors, drew up a form of government for 
Carolina that was intended to become a model for all others. 
His plan, called "The Fundamental Constitution," provided 
liberally for the Lords Proprietors, and through them, for 

* For the story of Raleigh's attempts at settlement, see page 30. 



INDIAN WARS 75 

a system of American earls, lords, and barons, who were to 
own the land; while the people living on the land and tilling 
it were to be their dependents without political privileges of any 
kind. But tjie spirit of self-government seemed to be a part of 
the air and generous soil of the new country ; and Carolinians 
from the first were free. They would have none of Locke's 
isystem of government; and. although an attempt was made to 
carry out its provisions, the ' ' Grand Model ' ' was soon abandoned 
as a complete failure. 

The Albemarle and Cape Fear settlements (North Carolina) 
were united with the settlements on the Ashley River (South 
Carolina) under one governor, although each had separate gov- 
ernments. After 1712, separate governors were appointed; and, 
in 1729, the northern settlements were recognized as the Royal 
Colony of North Carolina. The colony offered its settlers an 
unusual variety of occupations. Besides the clearing of land 
and the cultivation of tobacco, alread}^ found profitable in Vir- 
ginia, the Carolinians raised cattle in the fertile bottom lands ; 
and the great forests of pine afforded vast quantities of lumber, 
tar, pitch, and turpentine. The climate was milder, and spring 
set in sooner than in the more northern colonies, so that with 
the earlier fruits and vegetables living was made easier. The 
people showed their spirit of independence in their almost con- 
stant contention for a greater measure of self-government than 
the proprietors were disposed to grant. In one case, the people 
rose in resistance to the regulations placed upon navigation and 
commerce and put the collector of duties in prison. This was 
in 1678. Ten years later, they drove Governor Sothel, a Lord 
Proprietor, out of the colony. 

The increase of white settlements in Carolina aroused the 
Indians, and, in 1711, the Tuscaroras began a series of attacks 
upon the whites. Outlying- settlements were destroyed and the 
settlers tortured and killed. Aided bv South Caro- , ^■ 

^ Indian 

linians, the men of North Carolinia began a war of ^^" 
extermination against the natives, which lasted two years, until 
the whites were finally victorious. The Tuscaroras migrated 



76 BEGINNINGS OF THE MIDDLE COLONIES 

to New York, where they joined the five Iroquois tribes, known 
thereafter asi the "Six Nations." 

A settlement in what is now South Carolina was 
attempted in 1562 by French Huguenots under Jean 
Ribault. This settlement was abandoned three years 
later. Successful English colonization began in 
?/§?uth^^^ 1670, when William Sayle led a number of Puri- 
tans to Port Royal,"^ the site of the ill-fated 
colony of Ribault. Believing that this was too accessible 
to attack by the Spaniards of Florida, the colony moved 
to a harbor farther north and called their settlement 
Charles Town. 

From the first, the colony attracted immigrants and 
prospered accordingly. Huguenots fled thither from per- 
secution in France; Englishmen came from the mother 
country and from the West Indies, and some of the Dutch 
migrated from New Amsterdam, when that settlement 
was seized by the Duke of York. In love of liberty, these 
settlers were like their fellow-colonists elsewhere in 
America. The history of the first half century of the 
colony is a story of many struggles with proprietary 
governors, until, in 1719, the people petitioned the king 
for a change of government. This was granted them a few 
years later, when South Carolina became a royal prov- 
ince, and the governors w^ere appointed by the king. 

The colonists of Carolina had much to contend with on 

account of active enemies by sea and on land. Not only 

were there wars with various Indian tribes, 

Pimtes%nd such as the Tuscaroras (1711-13), the Chero- 

kees (1715), the Yamassees and others (1748- 

^ Not to be confused with the first French settlement in Canada 
(Acadia), see page 92. 



CULTIVATION OF RICE AND INDIGO 77 

61) ; but numerous pirates and buccaneers such as 
Captain Kidd and ' * Blackbeard " invested the southern 
seas for many years. Moreover, the Spaniards were 
always on the lookout to surprise and capture Charleston 
and destroy the settlement (page 97). 

The cultivation of rice was begun very soon after set- 
tlement. It became a leading industry, and many negro 
slaves were imported for work in the lowlands. The 
cultivation of indigo was encouraged by means 
of a special bounty granted by the British Par- of Rice 
liament; and these industries became a source 
of great wealth to the province until both were largely 
supplanted by the raising of cotton. 

Settlement of Georgia 

The last of the thirteen English colonies was founded 
in 1733, and was called Georgia, in honor of King George 
II. For some time the English had hoped to establish 
a colony on the still unoccupied strip of coast between the 
colony at Charleston and the Spaniards in Florida, Also, 
continual border warfare or threats of warfare with the 
Indians, together with the hostility of the Spaniards, 
caused the Carolinians to regard with favor a new colony 
to the south of their own settlements. English emigrants 
desirous of going to America had hitherto, however, 
shown a preference for the older colonies. Hence it came 
about that Georgia owes her origin to the genius of a 
great man who conceived a new plan to help certain of 
his fellow-men. This man was General James Edward 
Oglethorpe; but, in order to understand his idea, it is 
necessary to review some of the customs and laws of that 
day, now happily in disuse. 



78 



BEGINNINGS OF THE MIDDLE COLONIES 



In the days of William Penn and James Oglethoi-pe, 
not only might a man be hanged for any one of a hundred 
or more minor offences against the law, but he could 
be thrown into prison for debt, even though he had fallen 
behind in payment solely because of ill health or other 
misfortune. Oglethorpe conceived the idea of 
Liberation of freeing those who were honest but unfortunate 

Honest but c? 

Debtors'^^^^ and giviug them a fresh start in life in the 
New World. Other settlers, also, were wel- 
comed. Oglethorpe, himself, led to America the first 
colony of about six-score emigrants. These landed in 

1733, eighteen miles from the 
mouth of the Savannah River. 
First giving thanks to God for 
their safe arrival and renewed 
hopes, they began forthwith to 
build a settlement which they 
called Savannah. Forts were at i 
once constructed for protection 
against attack by Spaniards and 
Indians. With the latter, how- 
ever, Oglethorpe succeeded 
in making a treaty of peace 
and secured from them a title to 
land as far south as the St. 
John's River. 
Oglethorpe also made provision for Christianizing the 
natives, and, in 1736, when he returned to Georgia from 
England, he brought with him John Wesley to preach to 
Wesley and ^^tli colouists and ludiaus. Wesley was much 
whitefieid impressed by the faith and courage of the set- 
tlers. Later, he returned to England and became the 




General James Oglethorpe, 
founder of Georgia. Like 
William Penn, Oglethorpe waa 
a man of original ideas; and, 
like Penn, he carried them 
out, with a large measure of 
success, in America. Ogle- 
thorpe died July 1, 1785. 



GEORGIA FIRST TO OPPOSE THE SLAVE TRADE 79 



founder of the Methodist Church, which was first estab- 
lished in that country. Another evangelist, George White- 
field, followed Wesley into the colony in 1738. He crossed 
the Atlantic six times in the next twelve years and 

traveled 
through the 
English col- 
onies from 
Georgia 
to M a s s a- 
chusetts. 

8- 1 e - 
thorpe w a s 
among the 
earliest of those who op- 
posed the African slave 
trade and slavery, so that 
he caused the importation 
of slaves into the new col- 
ony to be prohibited. But 
after some years' trial, it 
was found that Europeans sickened and frequently died 
in the cultivation of the low-lying rice fields of the South, 
w^hile, under the same conditions, negro laborers thrived 
and were free from the fevers to which the whites readily 
fell victims. In order to compete, therefore, 
with their more successful neighbors in South 
Carolina, the Georgia colonists removed re- 
strictions against slavery.^ 

^ The development of the southern portion of the United States owes 
much to the importation of the African negroes, who, although wrongly 
seized and brought over to America, were themselves greatly raised in the 
scale of civilization. 




THE CAROLINAS AND GEORGIA 



Georgia the 
First Colony 
to Oppose the 
Slave Trade 



80 BEGINNINGS OF THE MIDDLE COLONIES 

It was fortunate for Georgia that the leader of the 
colony was a skilled soldier; for it was not long before 
the Spaniards challenged the newcomers to battle for 
their claims. In 1739 the Spaniards prepared for attack 
Trouble with ^'^^^ ^ Considerable fleet and a large force, 
the Spaniards rp^^ ^|^g struggling little colonv, this fleet must 

have seemed like another ^* Invincible Armada. '^ The 
Spaniards felt assured of victory, and had planned, after 
defeating the Georgians, to proceed to attack South Caro- 
lina. Oglethorpe, however, handled his little force so well 
that, at the close of the struggle known as the battle of 
Bloody Marsh, the Spaniards were glad to retire; and 
the colony was thereafter in no serious danger from 
Spanish aggression. 

NOTES AND SIDELIGHTS 

Relations Between the Early Settlers and the Indians. — 

It is interesting to review and compare the experiences of each 
group of settlers with the natives, or "naturals," as the first 
colonists called them. Immediately on, landing, the Jamestown 
colonists were attacked by the Indians. From the first, therefore, 
the Indians oi Virginia showed hostility to white settlers, which 
may have been due to the cruel treatment accorded the natives 
by Spaniards who had previously visited or who had attempted 
colonization on that part of the coast. The Dutch had frequent 
difficulties with the Indians. The Pilgrims and Roger Williams 
got along well — the former with the Wampanoags, the latter 
with the Narragansetts. On the other hand, the Puritan settlers 
of New England carried on several extended and bloody wars 
with native tribes. 

Some knowledge of the peace-making experiences of Gov- 
ernor Bradford, Roger Williams, and the temporary truce ar- 
ranged by the Virginians between the time of the marriage of 



RELATIONS BETWEEN SETTLERS AND INDIANS 81 

Pocahontas (Matoaka) and her death may have g:iven William 
Penn a special basis for his belief in the effect of fair treatment 
of the natives, which he insisted on in his treaty with them. John 
Archdale, the Quaker Governor of South Carolina, succeeded, 
like Penn, in livinor at peace with the Indians ; but, on the whole, 
there was much Avarfare with the Indians from Maryland south- 
ward. Particularly does the warfare in the Carolinas and 
Georgia lend itself to picturesque narrative in daring adventures. 




MAP SHOWING PRINCIPAL INDIAN STOCKS, WITH SOME OF THE TRIBES FIGURING PROMINENTLl 

IN EARLY COLONIAL HISTORY. 

sudden surprises, death for some, and narrow escapes for others. 
Gilmore Simms, of South Carolina, has set this forth in story 
form, as did James Fenimore Cooper, in respect to the Indians 
and early settlers of the Middle Colonies. In the Indian wars 
of the South there came to the front the names of fighting men 
later to win distinction in the Revolution — Laurens, Barnwell, 
Pickens, Middleton, Marion, Clarke, Moultrie, and others. On 
the other hand, each settlement had its devoted missionary 
teachers who worked for the conversion of the natives to Chris- 
tianity — from Reverend Richard Buck and George Thorpe, of 
6 



82 BEGINNINGS OF THE MIDDLE COLONIES 

the first colony in Virginia, to John Wesley, who made an ex- 
tensive effort in Georgia, the last of ' ' the original thirteen. ' ' ^ 

The North American Indian 

Indian Tribes and Their Distribution. — As will be seen 
from the map on page 81, the barbarous Indians of the East were 
established in three great divisions or races : the Algonquins, 
afterwards the allies of the French ; the Iroquois, frequently the 
allies of the English ; and the Muskoki in the far South, the last 
of the Indians east of the Mississippi to be dispossessed by the 
white man. 

Each of these stocks or races was divided into tribes. These 
were either more or less united, as were the Five Nations of the 
Iroquois, or they were almost constantly at war with one another. 
An examination of the map will show that many tribal names 
have become familiar to us either in connection with the early 
settlements, as in the case of the Powhatans and the Narragan- 
setts; or they have given us names inseparably connected with 
the geography of our country, as in the case of the Illinois, the 
Mohawks, and others. 

Origin, Appearance, etc. — Nothing positive has been ascer- 
tained with regard to the origin of the North American Indians, 
although there w^ere several suppositions as to their beginnings. 
It seems certain, however, that thej^ were living in America 
thousands of years before the white man came to disturb 
their sway. 

In appearance there were decided differences between the 
different tribes ; they were generally characterized by a cinnamon 
color, high cheek bones, and dark eyes and black hair. As a rule, 
the men had no beards, in which respect they Avere not unlike 
the Chinese. 

Manner of Life and Customs. — The barbarous Indians lived 
in villages composed of wigwams or of ^ ' long houses. ' ' Some of 

^ In 1741, George Whitefield founded an orphan asylum near Savannah, 
raising money therefor by preaching in England and by the sale of crops 
jjrown on the plantation, which he profitably farmed by means of slaves. 



MANNER OF LIFE AND CUSTOMS 



83 



the latter accommodated twenty to fifty families, separated by 
partitions or stalls. They were accustomed to the use of fire, 





.-_ -^ 



INDIAN WOMAN WEAVING 



INDIANS BT7ILDING A CANOE 



which was confined to a great pit in the center of the long houses. 
The smoke escaped through a hole in the roof, which, as a rule, 
was constructed out of some kind of bark. 
The chief agricultural implement of the 
Indian was a hoe made of sharpened stone; 
this was left almost wholly to the women to 
wield, as the warriors considered manual labor 
degrading. The latter, on the hunting trail or 
the war path, were armed with rude stone 
hatchets or tomahawks, with which they brained 
their foes, or their victims, as the case may 
have been. They also used sharp-pointed stones 

as arrow-heads 

In time they 

learned to use 

the white 

man's firearms 

and other 





INDIAN STONE IMPLEMENTS 



INDIAN QUIVER AND 
BOW-CASE 



weapons. 

The barbarous Indians, a,s children of the forest, became the 
closest observei:s of nature. Their perceptions were almost as 
keen as those of the lower animals; and, not unlike many wild 
animals, they did not thrive in settlements or confined quarters. 
Their love of personal freedom was as strong as that of the white 
man ; unlike the African negro, therefore, they were never happy 



84 BEGINNINGS OF THE MIDDLE COLONIES 

in slavery. Under conditions of involuntary servitude, the 
American Indian perished. 

Religion. — The religion of the Indian was very simple. He 
believed in a heaven which he called the Happy Hunting Ground, 
to which their spirits would repair after death. This heaven was 
not unlike the earth, but w^as free from ills and pain. On earth 
the Indian scalped his foes, wath the hope that his enemies so 
treated w^ould not be received in the Happy Hunting Ground. 
On the same principle, he w^ould risk his life to preserve the 
scalp of a slain friend or chief. Generally faithful to tribe, 
friend, or chief, he Avas terribly crnel to all captives and de- 
lighted in torturing them in every way his ingenuity could 
devise. Moreover, it was the custom of those subjected to torture 
to show the utmost indifference to pain, and the victims even 
taunted their captors up to the time that death ended their 
agonies. Indian clans and tribes had ''totems" or emblems' 
sacred to some animal, in the name of which religious ceremonies 
would be held. 

Government. — Families related by ties of blood made up a 
clan, which frequently dw^elt in villages. Except for w^eapons, 
beads, and trinkets, there was little or no private property, provi- 
sions and shelter belonging to all in common. A number of united 
clans constituted a tribe. Every clan elected its own chief or 
sachem. A number of such sachems would constitute a tribal 
council, which itself Avould sometimes have a tribal war-chief. 



CHAPTER IV 

A Century of Colonial Expansion ^ 

In the preceding chapters the story of the beginnings 
of thirteen English settlements has been set forth. The 
following chapter on colonial expansion traces the growth 
of these colonies. The story includes not only tierce and 
protracted struggles with Indian tribes; 
a prolonged conflict with Imperial France ^h^^ ^ind^ N^tur?" 
at the climax of her power for the control in'd^seif"g1)ve?nnient 
.of the North American Continent, but 
also a record of unremitting toil in the subjugation of the 
soil to the uses of civilized man, and, last, but not least, an 
ever- watchful vigilance against the encroaching authority 
of Crown and Parliament. This was the price the colo- 
nists had to pay for their earliest forms of self-govern- 
ment and for their constantly expanding freedom — a 
form of struggle which by no means meant a united front 
against the Old World ideas of aristocratic privilege, but 
which offered a divided vie\\^oint amongst the colonists 
themselves. Although, in some ways, the colonies may be 
treated as a whole, the settlements were so widely sepa- 
rated, especially in the seventeenth century, that it is 
necessary, for the greater part of the period, to consider 
their development by groups or as individuals. 

Of the oldest of the colonies, only that part of its his- 
tory has been told which carried the narrative of its 

^ More exactly, a review of events from 1619, the date of the meeting 
of the first Colonial Assembly, to the beginning of the break with the Crown 
and Parliament. 

85 



S6 



A CENTURY OF COLONIAL EXPANSION 



founding to the assembling of the first colonial parlia- 

indian Massacre ^^^"^^^^ ^^ ^^^^ (P- ^) ' ^^^m that year to 

^^ ^^^^ 1622 Virginia grew and prospered. Many 

^^plantations" had been set up beyond the borders of 
the first one at Jamestown. The settlers in the upper 
reaches of the Virginia rivers were better off under better 




Goodrich's Great Events of American History 

THE "aged chief" OPECHANCANOUGH BEING BORNE IN A LITTER TO THE LAST GREAT 
MASSACRE OP THE WHITE SETTLERS IN VIRGINIA, 1644 

climatic conditions. Moreover, ever since the marriage 
of Pocahontas to John Rolfe, the Indians seemed peace- 
ably inclined. Busy with their farming, few of the settlers 
seriously considered vague rumors of a plot by Avhich 
the Indians deliberately planned the utter extermination 
of the entire white population. 

No natives of North America were more cunning and treacher- 
ous than the powerful Algonquin tribe of Virginia. Opechau- 
canough, an old man, succeeded his brother Powhatan, the father 



INDIAN MASSACRE OF 1622 87 

of Pocahontas. Opechaiicanougli hated the white invaders of 
liis country with a deadly hatred. Knowing the immeasurable 
superiority of the whites in open battle, he determined to surprise 
the scattered planters in their widely separated homes aaid 
massacre them before they could arm or gather together for resist- 
ance. Accordingly, he sent many of his savage warriors into the 
settlements, where they were hospitably entertained by the Eng- 
lish. Upon the morning of April 1, 1622, the day fixed by Ope- 
chancanough for the massacre, the slaughter simultaneously 
began in hundreds of homes. The "friendly" Indians who had 
sought shelter with the settlers the night before now arose to kill 
them at their morning meal or at their work in house or field. 
Men, women, and children WTre alike slaughtered; and perhaps 
few or none would have escaped, had it not been for warning 
sent to some of the colonists by Chanco, an Indian convert to 
Christianity, and by natives of the Eastern Shore of the Chesa- 
peake. Although half or more of the settlers were slain, the 
survivors attacked the Indians with vigor and success until 
Opechancanough humbly sued for peace, and the final effect of the 
massacre w^as an extension of territory open to settlement.^ 

During the Civil War in England (1642 to 1649) many 
of the colonists of Virginia were inclined to take sides 
with Charles I against Cromwell and the Parliamentary 
party. On the other hand, the Virginians were always 
ready to resist royal authority whenever the king's gover- 
nors attempted to interfere with their exercise of self- 
government. One of the royal governors, John Harvey, 
so aroused the anger of the colonists that they deposed 
him and sent him back to Charles I in care of two members 
of the House of Burgesses. Thereupon, although the king 
released and restored Hai'^^ey and put the Burgesses 
under arrest in his stead, the spirit of independence in the 
colony ^ ' received a setback on the surface only. ' ' 

^ It is interesting to compare the warning of Clianco, the Virginia In- 
dian, with the kindly offices of Squanto at Plymouth. 



88 A CENTURY OF COLONIAL EXPANSION 

The triumph of the Puritan, or Parliamentary, party 
in Great Britain caused a great many of the "Cavaliers," 
as some of the adherents of the king were called, to emi- 
grate to Virginia. Possibly, Cromwell was as glad to see 
the Cavaliers leave Old England as Charles I 
Emfgrftion had been when many of the Puritans departed 
to Virginia ^^^ ]<lew England. In both cases, America 
gained thousands of desirable emigrants. Among the 
names of Cavalier families who came to Virginia at this 
time, we find those of Washington, Madison, Monroe, 
Tyler, Marshall, Randolph, and the names of many others 
destined to play a splendid part in shaping the future 
of the new country. 

At the beginning of this chapter it has been empha- 
sized that all the people of the colonies were not believers 
in the principles of democracy and self-government. In 
each colony there would be some who would ally themselves 
with a tyrannical governor and, for a time, 
BerkJiey^. °^ succecd lu depriving the people of some of their 
in Virginia pj.|yQgg.gg_ Sucli was tlic casc in Virginia under 

Charles TI, to whom the throne had been restored in 1660. 
Charles II reappointed Sir William Berkeley to the gov- 
ernorship of Virginia and ill repaid the loyalty of "Old 
Dominion," as he called the colony, by giving to several 
of his favorites monopolies or special trading privileges 
in Virginia products. Furthermore, Berkeley and his 
Council tried in every way to hinder the development and 
exercise of popular government. He refused to give the 
outlying settlements protection against Indian attacks 
because he and his friends feared to injure a profitable 
fur trade. 

At last the settlers could stand these outrages no 



BACON'S REBELLION 



89 



longer. Gathering together about 300 men, Nathaniel 
Bacon, without permission from Governor Berkeley, set 
out to attack the Indians. The autocratic „ 

Bacon's 

Berkeley promptly declared Bacon and all who Rebellion 
persisted in following him rebels and outlaws. This action 
of the Governor dismayed many of Bacon's men, but he, 
with such as agreed to stay with him, attacked the Indians 
in their fort or stockade and returned victorious. 

The majority of the planters were ready to support 
Bacon, and Governor 
Berkeley felt obliged to 
call together a new House 
of Burgesses, to which 
Bacon was h i m self 
elected. Berkeley then 
publicly pardoned Bacon 
and offered him a com- 
mission as commander-in- 
chief of the colony 's 
forces. 

As soon, however, as 
Bacon had set out on a 
second expedition against ^afe -/: 
the Indians, Berkeley de- 
nounced him and raised a 
large force to capture 
him. In the meantime, a number of the people met at 
Williamsburg, and after debating the question the greater 
part of a summer night under the glow of pine torches, 
resolved to sapport Bacon even against the king ^s troops. 
Bacon marched against Jamestown, where some of his 
followers set fire to their own houses and the town was 




MEETING OF ROYAL f;0\i:iiV()U SIR ^\ 1 hLl \ \I 
BERKELEY AND N\THAN1EL BACON, THE URST 
AMERICAN "rebel" 



90 A c:entury of colonial expansion 

destroyed lest it become again the '' abiding place'' of the 
tyrant. Bacon then prepared to follow the fleeing Berke- 
ley across the Bay to Accomac, when he was fatally 
stricken with a fever. Bacon's death so disorganized his 
men that the followers of '^he first rebel" thereupon sur- 
rendered to Governor Berkeley, who was so savagely vin- 
dictive in his revenge that he was severely rebuked by the 
king himself. 

Taking up again the story of the New England colo- 
nies, we have already seen (p. 52) that the Civil War in 
England affected the history of both the New England 
colonies and Virginia (see p. 87), but in different ways. 
Puritan supremacy in England brought about the emi- 
gration of many Cavaliers into Virginia and the Southern 
colonies, while the restoration of the Stuarts in 1660, 
drove many of the Puritans to New England. Among 
the fugitives in New England after the Restoration were 
two of the judges who had sat in the court which ordered 
the execution of Charles I. The Puritans of New England 
sheltered or hid these ^'regicides," as they were called, 
from pursuit by the emissaries of Charles II. In addition, 
the New England colonies offended the king by their dis- 
regard of the restrictions upon navigation and by their 
persecution of adherents of the Church of England. Rela- 
tions between the colonies and the king became more and 
more strained. Under James II, the charter of Massa- 
chusetts was annulled, and Sir Edmund Aiidros was sent 
over as governor of the whole of New England. 

The people of New England were very restless under 
the new governor, and war might have resulted, had it not 
been for the Revolution of 1689, when James II was 
dethroned and William and Mary succeeded to the throne 



'^KING" PHILIP'S WAR 



91 



The Rule of 
Andros in 
New England 



of Great Britain. Andros was promptly 
thrown into prison, and the old form of gov- 
ernment was restored. The Massachusetts 
Bay colony was enlarged by the addition of the Plymouth 
colony and the settlements in Maine; but the Puritan 
leaders were required to extend to others than themselves 




{^i- =?r%~ife^^&4 






,.. -_ .>. 



Goodrich's Great Events of American History 



Attack on Brookfield, Massachusetts. Just as the Indians had pushed a cart 
filled with burning hemp and flax against the "garrison-house," a sudden shower 
put out the fire, and the Indians were driven away by a rescue party from Lancaster. 



some share in the government of the colony, 
nors were to be appointed by the king. 



The gover- 



In 1675-76 the colonists of New England faced the greatest 
of their wars with the Indians. In this war, Philip, the son of 
the Plymouth settlers' former friend, Massasoit, was now their 
chief enemy. By this time, the Indians had obtained guns and 
ammunition from the whites and had learned to 
use them ; so that they had become a dangerous 
foe. Under the leadership of Philip, the various Indian tribes 



"King" Philip's 
War 



92 A CENTURY OF ( OLONIAL EXPANSION 

destroyed twelve towns and attacked forty others with varying 
results. Philip had planned a great league of Indian tribes, but, 
fortunately, the whites discovered in good time that the strong 
tribe of the Narragansetts Avas plotting to join him. The settlers 
promjitly marched against the half-prepared Narragansetts, whom 
they attacked in their great stronghold in the swamp lands at 
South Kingston, Rhode Island. One thousand, or nearly a third, 
of the Narragansett warriors were slain in this single battle. 
Finally, in 1676, Philip was shot, and his wife and son were sold 
into slavery, together with scores of others. The power of the 
Indians was broken, and they ceased to be a menace to the settle- 
ments until some of them, leagued wdth the French, attacked the 
English colonies during the great struggle for the control of 
North America. 

France and Great Britain Struggle for Possession of 

North America 

Throughout the seventeenth century the once vast 
power of Spain began to decline, both in the Old AVorld 
and in the New, while another European power rose to dis- 
pute with the English the control of the North American 
Continent. This power Avas France. Under the lead of 
Samuel de Champlain, the *^ Father of New France," a 
settlement had been effected upon the great rock of 
Quebec in 1608.^ 

One of the first acts of the French colonists contributed 
largely to their final overthrow in the New World. Urged 
by the Algonquin Indians to join them in an attack against 
their age-long enemies, the Iroquois, the Quebec colonists 
agreed to do so. Consequently, the French, together with 
the Algonquins, attacked and defeated the Iroquois on the 



'A French settlement had previously been established at Port Royal, 
Nova Scotia, in 1005. Champlain had been associated with the Port Royal 
colony, and he was now made Governor of " New France." 



FRENCH EXPLORATIONS AND CLAIMS 



93 




94 A CENTURY OF COLONIAL EXPANSION 

shores of Lake Champlain in the summer of 1609. In so 
doing, they not only brought against themselves the ani- 
mosity of the ^'Five Nations" of Indians to the south of 
them, but made the Iroquois tribes for one hundred years 
the allies, first, of the Dutch, and then of the English. In 
consequence, the Iroquois kept the French almost wholly 
out of New York, and compelled them to follow the 
north and west routes to gain access to the interior of 
the country. 

In spite, however, of this obstacle to their progress, 
and in spite of their limited numbers, the French traders 
made wonderful progress under leaders unsurpassed for 
daring and vast accomplishment. In a comparatively 
short time, Champlain and Nicholet had mapped out the 

course and confines of the Great Lakes, and 
Explorations St. Lussou, witli duc pomp aud ceremony, had 

stood on the shores of Lake Superior, claiming 
the northwest for the ''Grand Monarque," Louis XIV. 
Moreover, nearly a score of years before the close of the 
seventeenth century, the adventurous and self-sacrificing 
La Salle followed the Mississippi River to its mouth, 
claiming the interior of the continent in the name of 
France, and calling the entire valley of the Father of 
Waters Louisiana, in honor of his King. As the years 
went on, the French were to reach out southward and east- 
tvard, and the English northward and westward. 

From the earliest times, explorers, traders, and colo- 
nists of Spanish, French, or English descent fought each 
other when they met in the New World. Conflict between 
the rival peoples went on in America w^ithout regard to 
declarations of war or proclamations of peace between 
their respective countries. The English had fought the 



ACCESSION OF WILLIAM AND MARY 95 

Spanish where they met them, on sea or land; and the 
French and Eng"lish were fig'hting' for control of the 
American fishing coasts, for the fur trade in northern 
Canada, for the possession of Acadia in the East and the 
border colony of New York. It was, however, in the last- 
named region that a crisis was to occur, and it is that 
region which most concerns our owm colonial history. 
Far-sighted French leaders perceived clearly that, if they 
could control New York, they would separate the English 
colonists and thereby greatly weaken British power 
in America. 

Had the Stuart kings remained in power, it is possible 
that the French would have succeeded in carrying out 
their plans in America. At one time, Charles had worked 
in harmony with the schemes of Louis XIV of France, a 
despot seeking world dominion after the manner of Philip 
of Spain in the previous century. On the acces- 
sion of William and Mary to the throne in 1689, ^/ wniiam 
events shaped themselves very differently.'' ^" ^^^ 
Whereas, Charles II and James II had been secretly more 
or less dependent upon the King' of France, William, as 
ruler of the Netherlands, had been the bitterest opponent 
of Louis XIV on the continent. A series of wars between 
England and France broke out, the first being known in 
America as King William's War, the second as Queen 
Anne's War, and the third as King George's War. 

' '' King Willi am s War ' ' 

In Europe, war was declared in April, 1689, but the rival 
nations in America did not start active campaigns against each 
other till the following year. The French leader in America, the 

* See notes, page 108. 



9(5 A CENTURY OF COLONIAL EXPANSION 

captaiivg'eneral of New France, was Count Frontenac, a bold 
and resourceful master of men. At the advanced age of seventy, 
Count he would on occasion adopt some of the habits and put 

Frontenac ^^-^^ ^j-^^ ^^^^ paint of his Indian allies. He now had 
orders to conquer New York and annex it to Ncm^ France. But 
the attack that Champlain had made upon the Iroquois years 
before saved the day for the English. Frontenac was not able 
to begin his great campaign because his Indian foes of the Five 
Nations were first knocking at his own doors. They had already 
succeeded in cutting off the French fur trade, and were torturing 
French prisoners in sight of the settlement at Montreal. Such 
was the perilous condition of Ncav France when Frontenac re- 
turned to the colony after a visit to the mother country. On his 
arrival, therefore, he was forced to defend Canada first, and to 
content himself with raids upon outlying English settlements, 
such as Schenectady in New York (1690) , Durham in New Hamp- 
shire (1694) and Haverhill in New England (1697)."* 

Nearly all these Indian attacks were made by stealth, many 
of them at night, and in the winter. The victims were either 
slain on the spot or they were carried off for torture. The settlers 
all along the line of the northern colonies stood in daily fear of 
surprise and massacre during these years. Concerted efforts by 
large forces were made to attack Quebec and Montreal. The 
expedition against Quebec was led by William Phips, who was 
born in Maine in 1651, one of an American famih^ of twenty 
brothers. Both expeditions were brought to naught, partly 
through the genius of Frontenac and partly through British and 
American mismanagement. Finally, Frontenac succeeded in 
breaking the power of the Five Nations and the Iroquois sued 
for peace. In America, King William's War had redounded to 
the credit of the French and was followed by a peace that lasted 
four years. 

''Queen Anne's War" 

In 1702, war again broke out, and this became known in 
America as "Queen Anne's War." Again, it developed into a 
prolonged struggle of the English colonists, along the line of 

^ See notes, page 109. 



CHARLESTON REPELS SPANISH AND FRENCH 97 

their northern border, against the French and their Indian allies, 
in which the outlying settlements suffered from English capture 
ambuscades, massacres, burnings, and all the hor- ^^^^^^ 
rors of savage warfare. Haverhill, but thirty miles from Bos- 
ton, was again the scene of massacre, and Deerfield was pillaged. 
On the part of the English, a second expedition was led against 
Quebec, but it also ended in failure. Acadia, however, was 
captured and held by New England militia and British troops. 
The name of the conquered province was changed to Nova Scotia, 
and Port Royal was renamed Annapolis in honor of Queen Anne. 
The middle colonies Avere free from attack at this time, but 
the French and Spanish planned an extended invasion of the 
Carolinas, Georgia not then having been settled. Governor 
Nathaniel Johnson, however, devoted himself to 

.IIP p J.1 • -I T • A Charleston 

the detense oi these provinces, and despite a Repels Spanish 
terrible plague of yellow fever which was raging 
in and about Charleston when the French and Spanish appeared 
before its fortifications in 1706, the Carolinians won a notable 
victory, driving off the enemy and capturing over two hundred 
French and Spanish prisoners. This decisive defeat crushed 
the hopes of the French and Spanish in the south. 

Peace was declared in Europe in 1713. The claims of Great 
Britain to Newfoundland and the Hudson Bay country were 
recognized, and Nova Scotia w^as ceded to England. The results 
in this war were against the French in the East, but in the West 
they had established their connections throughout the central part 
of the continent from Detroit (1701) to Mobile (1702).« 

"King George's War" 

Except for minor conflicts, both parties seem to have been pre- 
paring for a great final struggle. The war broke out in 1743. 
With short intervals of peace, this war lasted until the end of 
the European conflict knowTi as the Seven Years' War, or until 
1763, a year that also marked the beginning of the political 
struggle between the colonies and Great Britain. This prelim- 

* See notes, page 108. 
7 



98 A CENTURY OF COLONIAL EXPANSION 

iiiary twenty years of conflict with New France was destined to 
bring out and train many of the great leaders of the American 
revolution, among them George Washington. 

From the English viewpoint, the first period of King George's 
war reached its climax in the ably conducted and successful 
campaign against Louisburg on Cape Breton Island. This was 
very largely the achievement of New England, and it was marked 
by the choice for a second time of a colonial commander from 
Maine to lead a large force against a stronghold of the French. 
Louisburg was considered an almost impregnable fortress, but, 
after six weeks' siege by New England militia and four British 
men-of-war, it capitulated. The news of its capture was received 
Avitli great joy on both sides of the Atlantic, and William Pep- 
perell, the American commander, was rewarded with a baronetcy. 
When a temporary peace was made three years later (1748), the 
colonies were very indignant to learn that the British govern- 
ment had given this hard-won stronghold back to France in 
exchange for Madras in distant India. 

Peace could not last, however, as long as French and 
English boundaries in America were unsettled. In 1749- 
1750 the Ohio Company was formed, chiefly by English- 
men and colonial Virginians, to promote English develop- 
ment of the western frontier. Christopher Gist, a fron- 
tiersman from Maryland, was secured in 1750 to explore 
the country. Gist went west as far as *Hhe Falls of the 
Ohio'' (now Louisville) and selected the lands for the 
Company out of a grant of some half a million acres. 
The Company also constructed a fort at what is now 
Cumberland, Maryland, and blazed a trail through the 
mountains to the Monongahela River."^ 

Upon hearing of this proposed encroachment upon the 

' This trail was at first called Nemacolin's Path, from the Indian chief 
of that name, who, with Colonel Thomas Cresap, made this first road 
through this part of the wildern-ess. Afterwards this path became known as 
Washington's Road, Braddock's Road, and finally as the Cumberland Pike. 



MAJOR GEORGE WASHINGTON, EMISSARY 99 

claims of the French to the interior of the continent, the 
JVench commanders in America began to erect a chain 
of forts from Lake Erie to the southwestern part of the 
present State of Pennsylvania. This movement thor- 
oughly aroused Robert Dinwiddie, the ener- 
getic Governor of Virginia. Determining to wlihingtSn^ 
warn the French commanders to withdraw f^'^lcJJt 
from English territory, Dinwiddie entrusted 
this most important mission to George Washington, then 
a young surveyor. Although Washington was at that 
time scarcely of age, he had been for two years a major 
in the Virginia militia ; he was hardy, accustomed to bor- 
der life, and had, from boyhood, earned the reputation 
of doing well whatever he undertook. Not only was he 
recognized for his own ability and force of character, but 
he was a member of a family that had long been favor- 
ably known in colonial life. 

The task required of young Major Washington was a 
perilous and delicate undertaking. Not only did it require 
firmness and discretion, especially in dealing with the 
Indians, but great courage and endurance of a high order.^"* 
His journey of six hundred miles lay through a tangled 
wilderness, where, for the most part, the Indians were 
more or less active allies of the French and were likely 
to kill or torture any Englishman found in that region. 
Major Washington overcame every obstacle and deliv- 
ered his message to the French Commander at Fort Le 
Boeuf, within a few miles of Lake Erie. Discreet and 
sober himself, he learned much from French officers who 

^ Washington " carried on " where others failed. A messenger pre- 
viously sent out by Governor Dinwiddie had turned back, frankly fearful 
of the terrors of the long march and the excellent prospect of falling into 
the hands of hostile Indians. 



100 A CENTURY OF COLONIAL EXPANSION 

were neither. He observed closely their strength and 
fortifications and made notes of all that he saw. 

However, it was idle to think that a brave people were 
going to give np, without a struggle, valuable outposts 
built at the cost of so much labor and peril ; and the mes- 
sage Washington brought back to Governor Dinwiddie 
and the Virginia Assembly was a r-eassertion of the claims 
of the French and their determination to hold the country 
they were then controlling. 

Independently of the rest of the English colonies, and in spite 
of a treaty of peace between Great Britain and France, Virginia 
at once determined to make war against the French in America 
and asked the other colonies to assist her in driving out the 
invaders. The response, however, was discouraging. North Caro- 
lina alone agreeing to give assistance. 

Hoping for aid from the other English colonies, Virginia be- 
gan hostilities in the spring of 1754. Although an Enghsh ad- 
vance force retired from western Pennsjdvania, Washington 
really fired the first shot at some distance south of Fort Duquesne 
Second Period of (Pittsburgh). The French were defeated and 
King George's War captured, and their commander killed. At this 
point, Washington heard of the approach of an overwhelming 
force of French and Indians, and felt compelled to retire and 
construct a stockade, which he called Fort Necessity. Here 
Washington and his little force were compelled to surrender; 
but his defense had been so stubborn that the terms offered him 
by the besieging forces Avere most reasonable. He and his men 
marched back to Virginia, and the war they had begun was not to 
end until New France was overthrown nine years later. 

Events now followed one upon the other in the prepa- 
ration by the two nations for a final struggle, not only in 

America, but in England and in Asia as well. 
United ^* In America, the royal governors, Dinwiddie of 

Virginia and Shirley of Massachusetts, brought 
forward plans for unity of action, although the royal proj- 



EFFORTS AT UNITED ACTION 101 

ect for the uniting of the New England colonies with those 
of New York and New Jersey under one executive met 
with strong opposition, because it was thought that 
the long-enjoyed privileges of self-government would 
he endangered. 

Partly because of a similar distrust, a plan for colonial 
union proposed by Benjamin Franklin in a conference at 
Albany was rejected. Although it was not adopted, 
Franklin's plan is interesting in that it presented a colo- 
nial suggestion for a common government, which was to 
include a general congress, a continental army, and a 
royal governor over all the colonies. He believed that 
with such a government, the war with France could be 
prosecuted with vigor and success, since the preceding 
wars showed a lamentable lack of cooperation and need- 
less losses of men and treasure. 

In each colonial assembly arose an ever-recurring 
struggle with the royal governor, the former refusing 
grants of money unless the governor would grant addi- 
tional privileges. Such continual conflict for money on 
the one side and privileges on the other handicapped all 
the colonies. When one w^as ready to put a force in the 
field, the others were not prepared to cooperate. The 
French were not so handicapped. With a central and all- 
powerful government, every part of their great province 
was at once compelled to respond to the call of war. The 
people had no choice in the matter; yet such an absolute 
form of government could not, in the long run, stand 
against that of the English colonies, when finally aroused 
and united by the force of public opinion and support. 

At first the English cause did not thrive. The 
Colonial troops were badly commanded, and the English 



102 



A CENTURY OF COLONIAL EXPANSION 



iiiiiiistiy was slow and inefficient. On the other 
hand, although the French government both at home 
and in America was incredibly corrupt, New France 
was blessed with brave and brilliant leaders in the 
Marquis de Montcalm and some of his lieuten- 
ants. The first move was made under British auspices 
against Fort Duquesne. To capture that im- 
clmpiTgn^ portant stronghold. General Edwin Braddock 

and Defeat , , - j^ i» i j. i 

and two regiments ot regular troops were sent 
over from England. Braddock was brave, but ignorant 
of the peculiar frontier methods of warfare in the forests 

of America. Consequently, with 
Major Washington and several 
hundred Virginia volunteers, he 
set out from Virginia to fight in 
the same way that he was accus- 
tomed to make war on the plains 
of Europe. Braddock ac- 
cepted few, if any, sug- 
gestions, and heeded no 
warnings. Making a 
military road mile by 
mile as he marched, he 
had nearly reached his 
goal when he was as- 
sailed by the French and 
Indians, who poured in 
on his massed troops a 
deadly fire from unseen 

THE FOHT UUQUESNE CAMPAIGN 

sources. Braddock 's 
trained troops were helpless. Washington and the Vir- 
ginia militia sought to fight in true frontier fashion, from 




BRADDOCK'S CAMPAIGN AND DEFEAT 103 

behind trees and other shelter. To the brave but ob- 
stinate Braddock this style of fighting seemed cowardly. 
He, therefore, urged his men to stand their ground in 
the open ; but his army was cut to pieces and he himself 
was mortally wounded. The English lost over eight 
hundred officers and men, the French but sixty ; and it was 
due to the coolness of Washington and his colonial troops 
that the remnant of the regular army was saved from 




braddock's march 

destruction. This disaster gave the French undisputed 
command of the Ohio and Alississippi valleys, in ad- 
dition to their previous control of nearly the whole of 
present Canada. 

The savage allies of the French now began to pillage and kill 
all along the western borders of the English settlements, as they 
had done some years before in New England. In Pennsylvania, 
the Quaker element, conscientiously opposed to war, would not 
vote for aggressive military measures, although Benjamin Frank- 
lin labored hard with some final success. Major Washington was 



104 A CENTURY OF COLONIAL EXPANSION 

o'iven the command of from one thousand to fifteen hundred men 
to guard the borderland with over three hundred miles of frontier, 
with forts at long intervals from Fort Ligonier in Pennsylvania 
to the Little Tennessee River. 

In New York, Fort Oswego in the west fell into the hands of 
the French. At Fort William Henry, Indian allies of the French 
deliberately massacred the surrendered garrison. This barbarity 
brought, however, its own punishment, in that it conveyed to the 
savage captors the germs of smallpox from the victims, many of 
whom were suffering from that disease in the English fort ; others 
had died from the same cause, and the savages even robbed the 
graves to get English scalps. Thereafter, one dismal failure fol- 
lowed another, until the climax was reached in the crushing de- 
feat of the English by Montcalm at Ticonderoga, where thirteen 
thousand men under iVbercromby and Sir William Johnson were 
put to rout. 

This, however, was the last of the notable French successes. 

William Pitt, the greatest of England's war ministers, was now 

at the head of the British government. His energy was felt 

almost at once in Europe, in Asia, and in America, or wherever 

war was raging on three continents. Setting a 

William Pitt , ^. ^ t r. ^n • i i . i • i r. ^- ^ 

to the Splendid example or omcial honesty himseli, Pitt 

removed corrupt subordinates and incompetent or 
blundering commanders. One English success followed another. 
Louisburg was recaptured by Generals Amherst and Wolfe. 
Major Washington raised the British flag over Fort Duquesne, 
Avhich was renamed P^ort Pitt (later Pittsburgh). Forts Niagara 
and Ticonderoga were recaptured in the summer of 1759, and 
when Quebec surrendered in the following autumn, the French 
power in America fell with that powerful fortress. The story 
or its fall is an inspiring one, and reflects the highest honor upon 
the names of both Wolfe and Montcalm, the victor and 
the vanquished. 

Quebec had been fortified and was defended by the 
great strategist, Montcalm. The clifPs were well-nigh 



FALL OF NEW FRANCE 



105 



inaccessible by land attack, and too high for the range 
of the guns of the English fleet. It was believed that all 
the possible approaches had been rendered im- 
pregnable, and the summer was spent by the 
English in a vain attempt to find a vulnerable point for 
attack; but when autumn had come, and when it seemed 
that the English must retire at the approach of winter, 



Fall of 
New France 




THE HEIGHTS OF ABRAHAM 



Wolfe found a path that his army could scale in the dark 
of night. Making pretence of attack in many places 
before dawn on the 13th of September, he. overpowered 
the unsuspecting guards at the top of the cliff and drew 
up on the plains of Abraham above Quebec an army of 
5000 men. 

The battle that followed did not last long. The great 
Montcalm fell while bravely rallying his men, thanking 
God that he did not live to see Quebec surrender. Wolfe 



106 A CENTURY OF COLONIAL EXPANSION 

was mortally wounded, but when told that the English 
were victorious, he exclaimed that he died in peace. 
Quebec was now fQrced to surrender, and Canada ulti- 
mately became a British province. France likewise gave 
upy in favor of Great Britain, her claim to all the continent 
between the Mississippi and the Alleghenies, while ceding 
to her ally, Spain, the country from the Mississippi to 
the Rocky Mountains. 

Three Indian wars marked the closing of the Anglo-French 
struggle. One was begun by the gTeat chief Pontiac, who secured 
from many of the northern tribes a promise of concerted action 
"Pontiac's f^r the massacrc of settlers all along the borders of 
Conspiracy" ^j^g middle colonics. The Indians surprised and mas- 
sacred many English settlers, but some of the military outposts 
just secured from the French were saved by a timely warning. 
One of these was Detroit. 

In this war there were bloody ambushes and many lives lost ; 
but from it all one English soldier stood forth above his fellows. 
This was Colonel Henry Bouquet, who fought aud won a decisive 
Colonel battle with the Indians at Bushy Run in western 

Henry Bouquet Pennsj^lvania, and later conducted a successful 
campaign in Ohio which led to their final overthrow. Pontiac 
was forced to sue for peace, and he was later killed by a fellow 
Indian for the promised reward of a barrel of rum. Colonel 
Bouquet was made a brigadier-general, and was sent to the south- 
ern department. Two years later he succumbed to a fever at 
Pensacola, Florida, and died there in 1765. 

Somewhat prior to Pontiac 's war in the northwest, a conflict 
began between the southern colonies and the Cherokee Indians. 
Like Pontiac 's war, it started in massacres and disaster for the 
Indian Wars coloiiies, but closed with defeat for the natives and 
in the South j^^^ acccssions of power and territory for the whites. 
The worst single disaster of the conflict was the fall of Fort 
Loudoun in the mountains of western North Carolina, with the 
massacre of many of its defenders and the capture of the re- 



THE WINNING OF THE WEST 107 

mainder. Finally, the British regulars and Carolinians broke 
the power of the Cherokees after a bloody campaign in the western 
part of South Carolina. 

The last of these three Indian wars was the most 
notable, taking place shortly before the outbreak of the 
American Revolution. It is important in that it is very 
closely connected with the progress of Ameri- ^j^^ winning 
can colonization and the ' ' Winning of the °^ *^^ ^®^* 
West. ' ' It includes the most stubbornly contested battle 
that red men ever fought against white men in this coun- 
try. It was a war which made directly possible the settle- 
ment of Kentucky, the control of the northwest by Vir- 
ginia first and later by the United States. 

Soon after the close of the French and Indian wars, 
Daniel Boone and other pioneers began to cross the Alle- 
ghanies and enter the wonderful hunting grounds bej^ond, 
where buffalo, deer, and elk ranged, with "bear and tur- 
kies in abundance.'^ Boone ^s reports attracted the most 
famous hunters of North Carolina and Virginia. But the 
Indians were hostile, and many white men lost their lives 
in ambushes. Consequently, some of the whites began 
to kill Indians wherever they saw them, without first find- 
ing out whether they were friendly or not. In this way, 
the family of a friendly chief called John Logan were 
killed, and the Mingoes, Shawnees, and other tribes de- 
clared war under Cornstalk, a noted chieftain of the north- 
west, and under Logan, now a bitter enemy of the 
white settlers. 

The colony of Virginia prepared for war and sent out 
two forces to invade the Indian territory. Upon learning 
of this division of the English, Cornstalk, with instant 



108 A CENTURY OF COLONIAL EXPANSION 

decision and dispatch worthy of a great commander, 
hastened through the forest to attack the first division 
under General Andrew Lewis before it could unite with 
that commanded by Lord Dunmore. This able Indian 
chief and his warriors crossed the Ohio River at night, 
and by sunrise of October 10, 1774, fiercely attacked the 
English encampment at Point Pleasant. The fight lasted 
almost the entire day, and a fifth of the English forces 
fell before the Indians were defeated and driven off. 

Up to this time no large body of Indians had main- 
tained a regular engagement for so long a period of steady 
fighting against an equal force of Engiishmen. Many 
of the colonial officers were killed, but a number of the 
men tvho survived this great Indian battle were back- 
woodsmen destined utterly to defeat and capture at 
King's Mountain an equal number of the best trained 
troops that George III could put into the field against 
the colonies. 

After the battle. General Lewis crossed the Ohio to 
join Dunmore. Peace, however, was made with the In- 
dians, who did not attempt further to molest the settlers 
until some time after the beginning of the War for 
Independence. 

NOTES AND SIDELIGHTS 

Frontiers.— The first frontier of the Anglo-American colonies 
was known as the "tide-water" region near the Atlantic coast, 
which, as a rule, extended about fifty miles up the larger streams. 
By 1660, or the beginning of the reign of Charles II, this area 
had become what was then considered "settled.^' A second 
frontier began to extend from this settled area to the foothills 
of the Appalachian mountain systems. Some time thereafter a 
third frontier began to be established when settlement leaped on 



THE STORY OF HANNAH DUSTIN 109 

and beyond the mountain system, and the development of the 
third frontier marks a distinct^ new epoch in American history ; 
for this frontier was separated from the older settlements by an 
average of a hundred miles of forest and mountains. The men 
and women who settled this region have furnished a field for the 
narrative of daring: adventure. They loved the wild for its own 
sake, and when settlements grew, many of them moved out beyond 
them. Of these restless spirits the name of Daniel Boone stands 
out preeminently. Others, like Henderson, Robertson, Sevier, 
Shelby, and Campbell, ''grew up" Avith the country and helped 
in the government of the frontier settlements. From 1689 to 1763 
France and Great Britain kept up an almost constant struggle 
for the control of the great Central West, — the valleys of the 
Ohio and the Mississippi. The backwoodsmen of that early day 
never forgot their struggle; for if settler did not meet settler, 
''their respective Indian allies constantly reminded them of this 
hostile connection. ' ' 

Explorations of La Salle. — Robert de la Salle was one of the 
greatest of the explorers of ' ' New France. ' ' His discoveries and 
explorations covered the whole of the eastern half of the Missis- 
sippi Valley, from the source of the "Father of Waters" to the 
Gulf of Mexico. In 1669, he discovered the Ohio and Illinois 
rivers. Ten years later, he launched the first vessel ever seen on 
the Great Lakes. In 1682, he reached the mouth of the Missis- 
sippi and claimed all the great central region from the AUeghanies 
to the Rocky Mountains in the name of Louis XIV, after whom 
he named it Louisiana. 

The Story of Hannah Dustin. — The story told of Hannah 
Dustin affords a good example of the horrors of Indian warfare. 
In 1697, when Haverhill, Massachusetts, was attacked, Mrs. 
Dustin 's husband was in a field at work. Near him were seven 
of his children. Suddenly, the Indian war-whoop was heard, and 
he saw that the Indians had cut him off from his house. Seizing 
his gun, he mounted his horse and told his children to run ahead 
of him while he held the Indians at bay until they could reach 
a fortified house. The savages entered Mrs. Dustin 's house, 
killed her youngest child, a baby, ajid seized Mrs.. Dustin and her 



no A CENTURY OF COLONIAL EXPANSION 

neighbor, Mary Neff. These two women and a boy, who also was 
captured in this raid, were given over to a party of twelve 
Indians. The bo}- knew the Algonquin language, and, on the way 
to Canada, overheard the Indians discussing how they were going 
to torture their captives. The boy told Mrs. Dustin, and that 
brave woman planned to escape or die in the effort. Watching 
their chance, the three captives surprised the savages at night and 
killed all but two of them. They thus saved themselves from 
torture and death and returned to the English settlements 
in safety. 



CHAPTER V 

Colonial Life and Customs 

In the preceding chapters the development of self- 
government has been emphasized as the most distinctive 
and important feature of the beginnings and growth of the 
thirteen Anglo-American colonies. As each colony was 
separate and distinct from the others, each created and 
developed some distinctive features. In all, however, 
there was the same determina- 
tion to conduct their civil affairs 
in their own way with a mini- 
mum interference from outside. 

This exercise of self-govern- 
ment, while characteristic of 
every one of the English col- 
onies, had no counterpart in the 
colonies founded by any other 
European nation. It was quite 
contrary to the principles and 
practices of the Spanish, Portuguese, French, and in less 
degree, the Dutch. The colonies of no other nation at- 
tempted to manage their own affairs with an ever-increas- 
ing proportion of the people to participate or share in the 
privileges of citizenship. It is not surprising, therefore, 
that the carefully planned establishment of the first of 
these Anglo-American colonies on these principles has 
been called '^the greatest political experiment of 
the ages.'^^ 

In a hmited space, at least, no historical narrative of develop- 




C0STUME8 OP FRENCH SETTLERS IN 
AMERICA 



Page 4, et. seq. 



Ill 



112 COLONIAL LIFE AND CUSTOMS 

ment can present all of the interesting or important phases of the 
development of a country or people. It is the aim of this chapter 
to give a concise but comprehensive idea of the daily life of the 
people in the colonies irrespective of their wars or political affairs 
— an exposition not so much of their struggle with fellow-men as 
with nature, together with the story of their associations with 
each other, their home life, outlook, and customs. 

While each of the colonies had distinctive character- 
istics, it is dangerous to say that any one colony exclu- 
coioniai sively illustrated any one trait or idea. Each 

Characteristics ^olouy had witliiu it all kinds of people, but 
certain modes of thought or procedure became associated 
with one colony rather than another. 

It is perfectly correct to think of the Massachusetts 
Bay colony as a Puritan settlement ; and 
of Virginia as a colony long controlled 
by the Cavalier element, as well as the 
first self-governing Anglo-American set- 
tlement. We associate religious tolera- 
tion first with Maryland and Rhode 
Island. New York, from the beginning, 
was a settlement that represented more 
Avery s History different uatious than any other - ; Penn- 

PURiTAN COSTUMES gylvauia is associated with William Penn 
and the Quakers ; Georgia with freedom from debt ; Caro- 
lina with the Huguenots ; Connecticut with an early form 
of Constitutional govenmient. 

All of these general impressions are correct, if they be not 
pursued too far. For example, all Virginians were not Cavaliers, 

^ Not long after New Amsterdam became New York, Colonel John Page, 
of the then noted metropolis of Williamsburg, Virginia, addressed a letter 
to his son, in which Colonel Page marveled at the number of languages 
spoken in " this little village " of New York, of the " seventeen wells " in 
the village, and of the Monday morning washing of clothes in the waters 
of the Hudson. 




DEVELOPMENT AND CHANGING CONDITIONS 113 

nor were all those in the Massachusetts colony Puritans. The 
Puritans were at times barely tolerated in Virginia, but they were 
there. Church of England people lived in Massachusetts, but 
they were not allowed to take part in the government of the col- 
ony. Nevertheless, the presence of the lesser element in either 
colony helped, in time, to liberalize the dominant party in both. 
Another thing must be borne in mind : that, in all the colonies, 
conditions were constantly changing, and these chang*es were 
much more rapid than in the Old World. The Plymouth 
settlement had in it more people of like mind and social con- 
dition than any other colony, but it was soon 
"swallowed up in the Puritanism of Massachusetts and changing 
Bay." Again, the first Puritans of the Bay Colony, 
while "strait-laced" like the Pilgrims and more sombre and 
severe, were inspired with the Puritanism of Milton. Their de- 
scendants in the next generation kept the form, (or were compelled 
to do so under pain of displeasure of the all-powerful Puritan 
theocracy) , but they had less of the faith and devotion to a great 
purpose. Thc}^ looked less upAvards to an ideal and more down- 
wards for faults and failings among their fellow-men. Their 
lives WTre hard and the hardships were made more severe by 
bitterness and b.y the persecution of those who did not agree 
with them. The preachers of the day preferred to dwell on the 
wrath of a merciless Taskmaster in an overdrawn image of the 
Deity taken from the Old Testament, and few of them ever 
dwelt upon the love or charity set forth in the gospel of the New. 
Leigh Hunt's "Abou Ben Adhem" would have foiuid little favor 
with Puritan thought. On the contrary, Michael Wigglesworth 's 
"Day of Doom" was the popular poem of the latter part of the 
seventeenth centurj^ In 1662, Pastor Wigglesworth condemned, 
in effect, all outside of the Puritan fold as follows : 

They cry, they war, for anguish sore 
And gTiash their tong-ues for horror ; 
But get away without delay ; 
Christ pities not your cry.^ 

^Although the extreme phases of Puritans were on the wane in the 
eighteenth century, Jonathan Edwards' sermon, " Sinners in the Hands of 
an Angry God," w^as popular as late as 1741 and after. 
8 



114 COLONIAL LIFE AND CUSTOMS 

Since those who openly dissented from their doctrines 
of church and State were pretty successfully excluded 
from the Massachusetts colony, the spirit of re- 
witchcraft ligious cross-cxamiuation aroused by the preach- 
ing and literature of the day was obliged to find 
exercise. This culminated, therefore, in what is known in 
history as the '^witchcraft madness." Here the inquiry 
into thoughts and conduct of others reached its climax. 

A number of '* witches" had been put to death in 
Massachusetts and Connecticut prior to 1692, and trials 
of witches (without the death penalty) are on record in 
other colonies, but a ''craze" befell the people of eastern 
Massachusetts in 1692. In a few months, in Salem, Roger 
Williams' early pastorate, a score of persons were "done 
to death" before the common sense of the people asserted 
itself. As in many cases, when an abuse becomes intoler- 
able, reaction sets in, which serves to eliminate the evil 
altogether. So it was in this case. From the time of the 
Salem "madness," legal prosecutions for witchcraft 
ceased more definitely in Massachusetts than in the rest 
of the world.* 

Largely because communication between the colonies 
was slow and difficult, each maintained its peculiar man- 
ners and social customs. Reference has already been 
made (page 50) to the importance attached to position in 
rank and society and the more or less sharply drawn dis- 
tinction between various classes of people. On the whole, 
it may be said that the middle colonies, excepting, per- 
haps. New York, with its large landowners, observed 

*Most of the peoples of Europe had been, and were, engaged in both 
hanging and burning " witches." As a rule, " witches " were poor old women 
who lived by themselves and became objects of mystery or fear. 



SOCIAL CUSTOMS IN THE SOUTH 115 

these distinctions less than any of the others, and this is 
due, in part, to the influence of the Society of Friends.^ 

In the Southern colonies there was a certain rough 
democracy which we sometimes fail to associate with the 
South. It was a *^ manhood democracy*' that goes with 
open-air life. White men generally met on ^^^.^^ customs 
a basis of equality in the clearing of new *^ *^« south 
land and in hunting and trapping. Excepting Charleston 
and Baltimore, the towns of the South were small and 
far apart. Under such conditions, small ^ trades people" 
did not flourish in great numbers, and each plantation or 
farm was a more or less independent unit furnishing in 
great measure its own implements and labor. 

Because of this open-air life, physical hardihood and 
manly virtues were emphasized. Open-air sports were 
encouraged, the majority of them helpful and innocent, 
such as skill in riding and hunting. People ^^ lived 
abundantly rather than luxuriously. ' ' They readily took 
great risks in the development of their estates, and as 
easily fell into debt. They were punctilious in the code of 
honor, and a man who deliberately maligned or insulted 
another was sure to be called to account for it. In one 
respect, at least, this was good for the community, in that 
it served to check slander and abuse. On the other hand, 
there were necessarily definite evils and tragic results 
from the practice of duelling.*^ 

^ For upwards of one hundred years the catalogue of Harvard College 
listed the students not in alphabetical order, but according to the recognized 
social position of the students or of th-eir parents in the community. 

" Alexander Hamilton accepted the challenge of Aaron Burr and met 
his death. This happened, however, in the North, where duelling was rare. 
Several noted Southern statesmen felt called upon to fight duels, and Andrew 
Jackson escaped a mortal wound by a few inches only. 



116 



COLONIAL LIFE AND CUSTOMS 



The entire people were given over to hospitality to an 
extent that would be impossible in modern times. In the 
South there were no inns or hotels worthy of the name. 

The stranger was met at the door and 
welcomed into the home, whether it 
happened to be the one-room cabin of 
the mountaineer or the mansion of a 
successful planter o\\Tiing many hun- 
dreds of acres. This ^' habit of hospi- 
tality" and the maintenance of their 
farm lands kept even the wealthiest 
planters occupied, while the women, in 
caring for the household and their 
dependents, assumed responsibilities 
equal to those of the men.' 




Avery's History 
VIBQINIA COSTUMES 



Reference has been made to the importation of slaves and in- 
dentured white servants. Newspapers (for the most part week- 
lies) up to the Revolution were full of advertisements offering 
rewards for runaways. These advertisements embraoed the repre- 
sentatives of all trades. One such runaway was described as 
"born in the colony" (New Jerse^O, as being; fifty years old, and 
as having "served in the last war with the French, and a car- 
penter by trade. " ^ 

On the other hand, many of these indentured servants or 
redemptioners were men who had met misfortune in the mother 
country and who afterwards attained high rank or position, either 

^ " Absentee " planters there were, but these were in the minority. The 
life of the normal planter was free, open, and even lavish; comparatively 
few led lives of leisure. Thomas Jefferson exhausted his means very largely 
through this " habit of hospitality." Not infrequently he did not know the 
names of some of the guests who invited themselves to partake of this or 
that meal at " Monticello." 

* Sometimes workingmen were arrested on suspicion of being runaways. 
They were held for a fixed time, and sold into servitude in payment for 
jail fees. 



CROPS AND FARMING 117 

socially or politically, in colonial life. Many of them were em- 
ployed as tutors and teachers, positions they conld not have 
filled in the Old World, which showed that they were held in real 
esteem in the New, in spite of financial reverses or misfortune 
which had befallen them at home. 

In the South, although the slavery code was severe, 
the use of the code was resorted to only in extreme cases. 
The condition of the slave was, for the most part, fortu- 
nate, and, in most respects, he was better off and certainly 
happier than the average workingman of any comitry or 
people of that day. Slave labor in the South had 
its beneficial results in developing land which o/Negro 
otherwise would have been difficult or impossible 
to develop at a time when the white race fell an easy 
victim to malaria and other forms of fever. Its disad- 
vantages, however, were twofold. It created a class of 
^'poor whites'' who did not like to work in competition 
with negro slaves, many of whom went off to themselves 
in the mountains, and it caused the South to become wholly 
an agricultural section, differentiating itself thereby from 
the North, and thus making almost inevitable the future 
clash between opposing economic and political policies.^ 

The raising of tobacco was the chief employment of 
hhe tidewater districts of Maryland, Virginia, and North 
Carolina. The cultivation of rice and indigo predomi- 
nated in South Carolina and Georgia. Large ^^^^^ ^^^ 
farms or plantations were adapted for these in- farming 
dustries. In the western counties of the first-named colo- 
nies, the small farm predominated, on which was raised 
crops of various kinds of grain. There was much hunting 
and trapping, while the frontier was constantly moving 

^Page 307. 



118 



COLONIAL LIFE AND CUSTOMS 



westward with its accompanying dangers, rough customs, 
and hardships. 

Methods of farming were incredibly rude and primi- 
tive. Even so important an implement of agriculture as 
the plow was made of wood. Little or nothing was known 
of improving or properly cultivating the soil ; hence, if its 
fertility became exhausted, old fields were abandoned 
to make nev/ clearings from the woodlands. Timber was 
recklessly cut down and much of it was wasted, while 
enormous fireplaces consumed huge logs in a winter day. 
The sickle was used to cut the wheat and the flail to thresh 
it, except when it was trodden out by horses.^ ^ 

In the middle colonies, or those between Maryland and 
New England, foodstuffs were raised and exported to 
the West Indies. Immigration there in- 
cluded a number of artisans from Europe, 
especially from Germany. On a compara- 
tively small scale, these immigrants introduced the 

manufacture of linen, pottery, glass- 
ware, hats, shoes, and furniture. 

Pennsylvania was quietly but ex- 
ceptionally prosperous during the 
colonial era. In his interesting volume 
on ^^Men, Women, and Manners in 
Colonial Times, '^ Sydney George 
Fisher attributes this prosperity 
largely to a condition of peace with the 
Indians and an almost perfect free- 
dom from the fear or threat of war. 
Other causes were *Hhe capacity of 
the province to engage in a varied agriculture combined 

" Thomas Jefforson invented and introduced an improved form of plow. 



Life in the 
Middle Colonies 
and New England 




DUTCH COSTUMES OF 
NEW NETHEKLAND 



LIFE IN THE MIDDLE COLONIES 119 

with lumber, conimercej and manufacturing." By 1750, 
Pliiladelpliia had begun to outstrip Boston as the largest 
city in the colonies, remaining the largest city until out- 
stripped by New York in the following century. 

In New England, the occupations of the people were 
more varied than anywhere else in the colonies. Up to 
the time of the Revolution, perhaps a majority of the 
people lived in what may be called ^'agricultural vil- 
lages,'' in that the people of the villages tilled small farms 
outside of the villages. 
The New England farmer, 
being unable to cultivate 
the soil for a large part 
of the year, became adept 
in many trades. Not only 
small farmers, but mer- 
chants, clergymen, and 
physicians, helped out 

their living in the con- . .., -.^ 

struction of home-made a foot-stovk 

articles. On the other hand. New England became famous 
for its thousands of ships designed for both English and 
American markets. In comparison with other vessels, the 
American-made schooner was particularly successful. In 
fact. New England was supreme in shipbuilding for many 
generations, or until the Federal policy of high tariffs 
(after 1816) operated to drive American shipping from 
the seas. 

Hundreds of New England ships were engaged in the 
fisheries along the Atlantic coast. Others carried on most 
of the trade between colony and colony for the entire sea- 
board, and to and from the West Indies. Many of these 




120 COLONIAL LIFE AND CUSTOMS 

ships sailed regularly from Massachusetts, Connecticut, 
and Ehode Island carrying merchandise to the West In- 
The African ^^^^' Hcrc they took on cargoes of tropical 
Slave Trade ppoducts, cliicfly sugar and molasses, and re- 
turned to the New England coast, where the sugar and 
molasses were made into rum. These vessels then sailed 
for Africa and exchanged rum and cheap trinkets for 
negro slaves, most of whom were already the war slaves 
of the various tribes, and not a few were cannibals. On 
the return voyage, the negroes were crowded on board 
of the ships and brought over to be sold in the markets 
of the coast towns in the South, where they were bought 
by agents for the planters and given work in the fields. 

The colonists were forbidden to manufacture such 
articles as might come into competition with those pro- 
duced in Great Britain. Moreover, the ships 
Re^tHcting of othcr uatious were not permitted to bring 
Manufacturing goods to tlic colouics uutil they had first 

and Commerce ^ , 

stopped in England and had paid duties there. 
Certain products of America were not to be sold any- 
where outside of the British domain; although, by way of 
compensation to the colonies, these products were often 
given a monopoly in the home markets. 

Such were some of the laws pertaining to navigation and com- 
merce, which were on the English statute books for over a century 
prior to the American Revolution ; but these regulations were not 
strictly enforced, so that a prosperous trade sprang up along 
the colonial coast. James Otis, of Massachusetts, estimated that 
00 per cent, of the goods imported into the colonies were eitlier 
smuggled or brought in with the connivance of the British cus- 
toms officers. This smuggling came to he recognized as the regular 
method of semi-independent states to nullify the intolerant laws 



EDUCATION 121 

made by a distant parliament^ in which the people of the colonies 
had no voice or direct influence. 

Education was more generally diffused in the north- 
ern than in the southern colonies. This is especially 
true of New England. The first of our present 
American colleges was founded at Cambridge 
in 1636, as a high school where the sons of Puritan fathers 
might receive in the New World the benefits of education 
and moral guidance. 

In the South, education was not so general, due very 
largely to the fact that the population was 
more scattered and the towns small or of 
little consequence. Those who could af- 
ford to do so provided tutors for their own 
and sometimes their neighbors' children, 
or sent their sons to English schools and 
universities ; but there were also, through- 
out the rural districts, a number of ''old 
field schools/^ which played an important 
part in the early education of a number of avI^s History 
the most distinguished leaders of colonial '^°''^'' extractor 
and Revolutionary times. William and Mary, the second 
of our existing colleges, was founded at Williamsburg in 
1693. Its earlier history is unique for the large pro- 
portion of its students who achieved distinction in the 
making of the Eepublic. 

The growth in the number and influence of the colleges 
in the northern colonies, where population was more con- 
centrated, was noteworthy, so that students were 
attracted to them from all the colonies. After the estab- 
lishment of Hansard there followed in the order given: 




122 COLONIAL LIFE AND CUSTOMS 

Yale, in Connecticut (1701) ; Princeton, in New Jersey 
(1746) ; Pennsylvania (1749) ; King's College or Colum- 
bia, in New York (1754) ; and Brown, in Rhode 
Island (1764). 11 

It will be noted that there is a long gap in years between the 
beginnings of Harvard in 1636 and William and Mary in 1698, 
followed by Yale in 1701. This gap represents a period of in- 
creasing illiteracy in the colonies. After the beginning of the 
eighteenth century, however, educational conditions began to 
improve. In Pennsylvania, several free elementary schools were 
established, and a law was passed that parents be required, under 
penalty of a fine, to see that their children could read. In 
Virginia, private schools began to flourish early in the eighteenth 
century. Free schools were established in New York under the 
auspices of the Dutch churches, and these lasted for a time until, 
in later years, they were supplanted by schools based on other 
plansi. Massachusetts and Connecticut were the first to develop 
what may be called a '' public-school system" conducted under 
the auspices of the State (colony). This plan of the Puritans 
embraced a complete system from primary school to university, 
although it did not get fully into operation until many years 
after it was planned. 

There were a great many writers of anonymous broad- 
sides and political pamphlets and arguments, but there 
were few who could be called authors. Notable among 
these few were Jonathan Edwards, theologian; Benjamin 
Franklin, editor, philosopher, and scientist; and William 

Byrd, philosopher, annalist, and humorist. 

Poetry, or verses that may bear that name, first 
appeared in the southern colonies,^ ^ and were followed by 
educational and doctrinal teachings in verse prepared by 

"C/. page 301. 

" See page 34 for reference to George Sandys. 



LITERATURE 



123 



Puritan pastors and teachers. But in the South, particu- 
•larly, there long existed a peculiar objection to following- 
literature as a profession and even to the publicity of 
authorship. The title 



r^P o E M 



ON 




Several Occalions. 



^Bid / "SI h:; iMttts frvP.-JS ofwuitrctur, Sj- ■■ 
Siwftis eeteHatio jcU fOtn-.ur ; i.tinai, ut otuu, , hua 
an'mi' remifmem biim^tniifmm (S liitral'Jfimam jiu.i- 
cjieth. 



By .1 Qc:th!'!.v, of \' i R G I K I A. 



m, m> 



i? 



'{-.•'t.-'5.-»'..fj.^-;'i 



page of a book of Ameri- 
can poetry owned by 
George Washington bore 
no clue of authorship 
other than that they were 
* * By a Gentleman of Vir- 
ginia." Professor Trent 
writes of an anonymous 
epitaph to Nathaniel 
Bacon (page 89) that it 
is * * In all probability the 
single poem in any true 
sense^ — the single prod- 
uct of sustained poetic 
art — that was written in 
America for a hundred 

and fifty years after the settlement of Jamestown. ' ' Part 
of this epitaph by *^His Man" reads : 

... In a word, 
Mars and Minerva both in him concurred 
For arts, for arms, whose pen and sword alike, 
As Cato's did, may admiration strike 
Into his foes ; while they confess withal 
It was their guilt styled him a criminal. . . . 

Of daily newspapers such as we now know there were 
none. Weekly periodicals appeared in the more import- 
ant cities from Boston to Charleston. The Boston News 



tV 1 L L I A M S B r R C- 

' feud .:; ^■•\- '■'■' ■-■■■■' ?*»^-- 

Courtesy Boston Athenaeum 

TITLE PAGE OF BOOK OF QUAINT VERSES 
OWNED BY GEORGE WASHINGTON 



124 



COLONIAL LIFE AND CUSTOMS 



THE 

TENTH MUSE | 

Latcly^fprurig up in America. |J 

I Severall Poems, compiled | 

■ with' great variety o£::V Vic „~| 

and Lcarrung,fulk)f delight. : .^ 

Wherein cfpecially is contained a com- g 

pleat difcourfe and dcfcription of ^. 

(ILlmms, , g 

■ )Conj}iiutitnil 



The Fou 



-.Scefons eftbe Jear, 



I Together with "an Exaft Epltomie 
-nc Four Monarchies, iizr 



The 



of I 



Le^^er first appeared in 1704. These newspapers con- 
tained but little of current happenings and frequently did 
not reach some of their readers until many days or even 
weeks after publication. 

In New England, the only libraries of consequence 

were private ones of a theologi- 
cal nature in the possession of 
the clergy. In 1698, the first 
public library in America was 
founded at Charleston, South 
Carolina, by act of the South 
Carolina assembly. About fifty 
years later, Benjamin Franklin 
started a subscription library in 
the city of Philadelphia. On the 
other hand, a fair proportion of 
the Southern planters owned 
many volumes of prose and 
verse, from the plays of Shakes- 
peare to the works of Addison. 
Perhaps the most noted of these 
early libraries was that owned 
by William Byrd (1674-1744), himself author of ^^The 
Dividing Line,'' ^*A Journey to Eden," etc. 

The roads in all the colonies were wretched, and travel 
was difficult, if not, at times, impossible. Stage coaches 
were provided, particularly in the North ; but should one 
of these heavy vehicles become stuck in the mud, 
and ^ the passengers were expected to get out in the mire 
and help the horses as best they could by pushing 
or pulling. From Netv York to Philadelphia in three days 
was the proudest boast of speed in all the colonies, and 



Grtcian, ' 
<^',- . '^Komnn. .. ■ 
^ Alfo apialogiicfcetween Old Enzhnd and 
jS- N:WjC9ncernin<j the late troubles. 
Q WulnJivcr; AtlitrpU.ilJntandfcrbos Pocmt. • 
^.- . ,By'aGentlew6nianin.l.liprc part?. 
g Pi inteii itJJitJon for SicfWn flcwrriratthc (Jgnc of t!ic 
^ Bilein.pJpcsHL-ja^Allcy. 1650. ' , ■^^ 

lsa--rti't<*...- 



Avery's History 

TITLE PAGE OF POEMS OF ANNE 
BRAD8TREET 



THE ''SCOTCH-IRISH" 125 

was accomplished by relays of horses and then only in 
good weather. 

In colonial times it was not at all certain that a letter 
would arrive safe at a point but a few miles away, much 
less when sent from one colony to another. Parliament, 
however, in 1710, extended the British postal service to 
America; and, in 1753, Benjamin Franklin became the 
iirst Postmaster-General. 

There was never a period in the early history of the 
colonies that settlers were not either attempting a west- 
ward drive or actually pushing beyond the frontier at one 
period or another. This was the case even in the midst of 
the struggle with the French and Indians. 
Settlers passed the great Alleghany barrier of the 
from New York to the Carolinas, through 
the gaps made by the Hudson, Mohawk, Susquehanna, 
Potomac, and James rivers. Some of these westward- 
moving people represented an overflow of the original 
population of the English colonies. On the other hand, 
a large number were pioneers of Scotch-Irish and Ger- 
man descent. 

The term ^'Scotch-Irish" refers to Scotch borderland 
Presbyterians who, in the seventeenth century, had moved 
to the north of Ireland. Like the Pilgrims in Holland, 
they were not contented in their new home, ^j^^ 
Thousands of them, therefore, emigrated to "scotch-irish" 
America. Especially from Pennsylvania southward, they 
helped to extend the frontier of the English settlements. 
It has been estimated that half a million of these sturdy, 
thrifty, and determined people came to America between 
1725 and the outbreak of the American Revolution. 

In addition to this emigration of the English from 



126 



COLONIAL LIFE AND CUSTOMS 



Ireland there was an inflow of Geraians, second only in 
numbers to that of the Scotch-Irish. Like the Pilgrims, 
the Quakers, the Catholics, and others, these Germans 
sought freedom and liberty in America. Their own coun- 
try was terribly harassed by war ; and religious 
persecutions, common at that time in all the 
European nations, except Holland, were added 
to political troubles. Some of these people of German 
stock settled as far south as Georgia and some in the 



Immigration 

From 

Germany 




CONESTOGA WAGON 



Mohawk Valley in New York, but the greater number set- 
tled in Pennsylvania. Like the Scotch-Irish, they moved 
westward and extended the borders of civilization in 
America. In western Pennsylvania they represented, for 
a time, an element antagonistic to the control of the 
Pennsylvania colony by the Quakers in the East. For 
many years, also, these Germans in Pennsylvania were 
known in neighboring colonies as ** Pennsylvania Dutch. '* 
In frontier life there were few proprietors, few so- 



POPULATION IN 1775 127 

called ' ^ gentry, ^ ' few servants, and almost no slaves. In 
the ^'wilderness" and in the face of constant danger, all 
men were on a basis of equality. Hence, in the mountains 
and west of the Blue Ridge and the Alleghanies Frontier 
a more distinctively American life was developed ^^^^ 
than anywhere else. Nearly every settler was a free pro- 
prietor, working his way with his own hands and eating 
and wearing the products of his o^vn labor. Just before 
the beginning of the American Revolution, under tlie 
leadership of men like Daniel Boone, James Robertson, 
and John Sevier, these ''backwoodsmen" began, in de- 
fiance of hostile Indians, to break into the Far West or 
into the country now comprised in the States of Ken- 
tucky and Tennessee.^^ 

At the beginning of the American Revolution the 
population of all the colonies was estimated at between 
two and three million, less than half of the population 
population of New York City as rendered by ^" ^^^^ 
the census of 1920. 

NOTES AND SIDELIGHTS 

Rural Schools.— In the foi'^going chapter, reference has been 
made to the old "field schools." In some places and at other 
times the same institution has been known as the "little red 
schoolhouse, ' ' where so mam- of the greatest characters in Amer- 
ican history received their early training*. Not long- after the 
Revolution, George Washington himself endowed one of these 
little schools* then in the distant backwoods of his native State. 
This school Avas Liberty Hall Academy in the Valley of Virginia, 
since grown into Washington and Lee University. It has been 

"According to Theodore Roosevelt in "The Winning of the West," 
James Robertson and John Sevier were the first men of American birth to 
establish a free and independent community on the continent. This was the 
" Watauga Association " in what is now the State of Tennessee. 



128 COLONIAL LIFE AND CUSTOMS 

pointed out, to the credit of the rural schools, that George Wash- 
ington received his training in a field school, while his elder 
brothers were educated abroad. 

Anna Green Winslow and Her "Party Dress." — In "Child 
Life in Colonial Days," Alice Morse Earle quotes Anna Green 
Winslow 's description of her party dress when she was twelve 
years old : " I was, dress 'd in my yellow coat, my black bib & apron, 
my pompedore shoes, the cap my aunt Storer sometime since 
presented me with blue ribbins on it, a very handsome loket in 
the shape of a hart, the paste pin my Hon 'd Papa presented me 
with in my cap, my new cloak & bonnet on, my pompedore gloves, 
and I would tell you they all lik'd my dress very much." 

Her hair was dressed over a high roll, so heavy and hot that 
it made her head "itch & ach & burn like anything." Of her 
' ' headgear, ' ' she writes : ' ' When it first came home, Aunt put it 
on & my new cap on it ; she then took up her apron & measur 'd 
me, & from the roots of my hair on my forehead to the top of my 
notions, I measur 'd above an inch longer than I did downwards 
from the roots of my hair to the end of my chin. ' ' 

Lafayette's First Impressions of America.— In George Mor- 
gan's "The True Lafaj^ette, " there is the following interesting 
passage from a letter written by the famous French marquis to 
his wife. This letter was addressed to his wife shortly after he 
first landed in America at Charleston, South Carolina. Lafay- 
ette describes colonial life and customs in America as he first 
became acquainted with them. He wrote, in part, as follows : 

"A simplicity of manner, a desire to please, the love of 
country and of liberty, and a pleasing equality are to be found 
everywhere among them. The richest man and the poorest are 
upon the same social level, and, although there are some great 
fortunes in this country, I defy any one to discover the least 
difference in the bearing of one man to another. I began with 
life in the country at the home of Major Huger ; now I am here 
in the city. Everything recalls more or less the English customs, 
though there is more of simplicity here than in England. The 
American women are very beautifiil, unaffected in manner and 
of a charming neatness, which prevails everywhere in this country 
and receives the greatest attention, m.uch more so even than in 



LAFAYETTE'S FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 129 

Engiand. What delights me most is that all the citizens are 
brothers. There are no poor people in America, not even what 
may be called peasants. Every man has his own property, and 
each has the same rights with the greatest land-owner in the 
country. The inns are quite different from those in Europe; 
the proprietor and his wife sit down with you to the meals and 
do the honors of the table ; and when you leave you pay without 
haggling over your bill. If you do not wish to go to an inn, 
there are country houses where anyone who is a good American 
will be admitted and entertained as kindly as we receive our 
friends in Europe. ' ' 

In this connection, Lafayette's biographer records the follow- 
ing interesting information: "Major Huger's second wife was 
Miss Kinloch; and she it was, who, with her little son, Francis 
Kinloch Huger, then three years old, received the officers when 
they came down to breakfast. Their hearts melted when with 
kind voices and hospitable attentions, open, free and sincere, the 
lingers warmed away the hardness that had come over them 
during the stress and peril they had but lately undergone. On 
Lafayette 's knee, playing with his bright buttons and gold-hilted 
sword, sat little Kinloch, who, when he grew up, was to risk 
his life at Olmutz in Lafayette's behalf." Olmutz was the 
Austrian fortress in which Lafayette was confined for many 
months. When his attempted rescue failed, Huger was captured 
and shared, for a time, the great Frenchman's imprisonment. 



OHAPTER VI 

Colonial Controversy with King and Parliament 

On the fall of New France, in 1763, the colonists from 
Maine to Georgia became more and more deeply involved 
in a political struggle with Cro\\ii and Parliament in the 
Mother Country. As between successive Kings and Par- 
liaments, it is difficult to tell which attempted the greater 
interference with self-government in the colonies. The 
autocratic inclinations of James I and Charles I were 
held in check by troubles at home. James I had dissolved 
the London Company after it had established one self- 
governing colony in Virginia and had encouraged the 
beginning of another in Massachusetts; but Parliament, 
under Cromwell's leadership, had, in 1651, passed the 
first of a series of Navigation laws which, in one form 
or another, were to create a definite and final breach be- 
tween Great Britain and her colonies in America. 

After 1696 there were special laws passed by Parlia- 
ment to restrict colonial manufactures. In 1750 the iron 
mills in the northern colonies were outlawed altogether. 
In 1733, Parliament passed a ^' Sugar Act" 
ixteisioi which prohibited the New England traders and 
by King and mercliants from getting sugar from the French 

Parliament . o o o 

West Indies, unless they paid a very high tarirt 
(see page 139). Consequently, unless snmggling was re- 
sorted to, this compelled the purchase of sugar and mo- 
lasses from Jamaica, an English settlement. There was 
also the constant and successful effort to change charter 
and proprietary colonies into royal provinces more 

130 



ROYAL GOVERNORS 131 

directly under the control of the Crown and governors 
appointed by the king.^ 

When a colony passed from a proprietary or charter 
form to that of a royal province under a governor ap- 
pointed by the king, the colonists by no means lost the 
practice of self-government. For the most part, at first, 
popular government was merely hampered, for the reason 
that the royal governor had two masters: (1) the king 
who appointed him to carry out the regulations ..Royaj,, 
of Parliament and (2) the people of the colony, Governors 
ivho paid his salary. In consequence of this last im- 
portant fact and because the colonial governors, living in 
America, more readily saw the colonists' point of view, 
there were few consistent or continued efforts for many 
years to enforce the laws of Parliament. As in the case 
of Charles II (page 87), the royal governors realized the 
*' dangerous temper '^ of the people if "pushed too far." 
The governor's salary was always the last thing voted 
upon by the colonial Assemblies, and if the governor had 
vetoed much of the legislation of his particular Assembly, 
he found that his salary was held up "for a more con- 
venient season." Sometimes the Assemblies bluntly 
stated the reason, sometimes they evaded a direct answer. 
In the same way and by the same methods, the English 
people (through the House of Commons) had attempted 
to control, with ever-growing success, the power of the 
English king. 

One example of the character of the struggle will suffice to 

^ The story of the successful effort of Connecticut to keep its charter 
from seizure is handed down in the tradition of the " Charter Oak." At 
the beginning of the Revolution, only two colonies were still under the 
direction of proprietors: Maryland and Pennsylvania. Two others were 
corporate or charter colonies : Rhode Island and Connecticut. 



132 CONTROVERSY WITH KING AND PARLIAMENT 

illustrate the others: Earl}- in the eighteenth century, Governor 
Burnet presented royal instructions to the effect that the Massa- 
chusetts Assembly should vote him a fixed salary of one thousand 
pounds a year. After much debate upon the subject, the Assembly 
decided finally to disregard the royal instructions. Apparenth^ 
to make up for its seeming- disrespect to the King's orders, the 
Assembly offered the Governor an increase of seven hundred 
pounds, but for ojie year only, with the hope or expectation that 
the governor would yield and thus save forcing the issue, Burnet, 
however, refused the offer on the ground that it was virtually a 
bribe, and the struggle went on for three years when a new 
governor was appointed, who, being in need of money, felt 
obliged to petition the Crown to allow him to receive the offer 
of the Assembl}^ temporarily, at least. 

It will be recalled from Chapter I that the first his- 
torians of colonial settlement and in England were licensed 
by the Crown, as in the case of Jolin Smith.^ On the 
other hand, the popular or patriot party under James I, 
even under the powerful leadership of Sir Edwin Sandys, 
had no freedom in the matter of publication, and a limited 
amount of free speech in Parliament. 

In America, from the beginning, the colonies exercised 
a far greater measure of freedom of speech. Greater free- 
dom of expression in the press was assured by the out- 
come of the celebrated case of John Zenger, editor of the 
Weekly Journal of New York. In 1635, Zenger had criti- 
cized the action of Governor Cosby in the removal of the 
Chief Justice of the colony from office. The editor was 
prosecuted for libel ; and in England, at that time, 
of the the process of the courts would have certainly 

Press . . 

led to conviction. The matter was brought be- 
fore a jury, and it was argued by Zenger 's counsel that 

- Bradford and Winthrop, ivriting and preserving their records in 
America, were untvammeled. 



FREEDOM OF THE PRESS \ 133 

public criticism is a necessary safeguard of free govern- 
ment, and that the matter should not be decided, as the 
Court wished, on the basis of tvhether the criticism was 
made or not, but with respect to whether the criticism used 
was libelous or in accordance with the truth. The trial 
represented, as Zenger stated, not merely the case ^'of a 
poor Printer," but of *' every free Man on the ^lain of 
America. ' ' Zenger was acquitted, and a most important 
precedent in legal procedure in regard to freedom of the 
press was thereby established. 

Causes of the American Revolution 

^ ^ For many generations, " it is said, ' ^ the all-sufncient 
reply of the American schoolboy to the query as to the 
causes of the American Revolution was sunnned up in 
the phrase taxation without representation.' Any fur- 
ther comment added thereto Avas mere detail." 

This famous phrase is not without some basis in fact, 
but history shows that each of the colonies had its own 
system of taxation and representation in America. Hence, 
none of them ivanted either to be taxed by or represented 
in a British Parliament 3000 miles aivay.^ 

No harm is done in repeating or emphasizing the fact, 
in this connection, that each colony was a commonwealth 

^ Levi Preston, a minuteman at Lexington, was, years afterwards, 
asked why he "went into the fight." Preston replied: "Oppressions? I 
didn't feel any. Stamp Act? I never saw one of the stamps. Tea tax? 
I never drank a drop of the stuff. . . Young man, what we meant in 

going for those redcoats was this: ice had always governed ourselves, and 
we always meant to. They didn't mean that we should. 

James Otis wrote in 1764 that every part of His Majesty's dominions 
" has the right to he represented in the supreme or some subordinate legis- 
lature; " but because of the j^listance between the colonies and the mother 
country, and for other reasons, it was better that there should be in Parlia- 
ment "neither colonial representation nor colonial taxation." 



134 CONTROVERSY WITH KING AND PARLIAMENT 

governing itself to a greater or less degree as the people 
of each had been able to secure or demand self-govem- 
_ , , ment under charters, proprietors, or royal 

The Issue of . . -. 

Self-government govcmors. From the beginning, each colony 
had a more representative form of government than the 
people of the Mother Country had obtained at home. The 
colonies, therefore, would, in all matters of local concern, 
acknowledge no authority but that of a majority of their 
own voters. When, therefore, king and Parliament, in 
spite of the protest of a considerable body of the British 
people, attempted to assert an authority that neither had 
actually exercised during the period of colonial expan- 
sion, the colonies vigorously protested. 

At first the colonies wished to maintain their allegiance 
to the British flag, chiefly through their original relations 
with a common sovereign ; but Parliament, since 1689, had 
assumed much of the power that once was wielded by 
the king. George III, who had ascended the throne in 
1760, was obstinately bent on asserting, through a Tory 
Parliament, a more direct control over the American 
colonies. George III and his advisers overlooked the im- 
portant historical fact that when once a measure of liberty 
had been gained by English people, it was never willingly 
or permanently surrendered. 

In a vague way, George III and Parliament realized 
that in the very devotion to self-govenmient displayed 
by the colonies there lay a weakness. They thought that 
the distinctly separate governments and the individual 
differences between the colonies would make them less 
likely to unite in a common plan of opposition to British 
control. Parliament was willing, for instance, to flatter 
Virginia while it crushed Massachusetts; but Virginia; 



WRITS OF ASSISTANCE 135 

generously and with far-sighted wisdom, made the cause 
of Massachusetts equally her own in resistance to any 
policy that threatened popular government in America.* 

From time to time references have been made to fric- 
tion between the various colonies and the Mother Country. 
There are two reasons why this friction did not sooner 
break out into open resistance. (1) The Navigation laws 
and similar acts of Parliament had never been strictly 
enforced; and (2) the common danger of French and 
Indian foes at their borders made the protection 
offered by the British army and navy both desirable 
and necessary. 

When, however. New France fell in 1763, Vergennes, a 
distinguished French statesman, prophesied: ^* England 
will soon repent of having removed the only check that 
could keep her colonies in awe. They no longer need her 
protection. She will call upon them to contribute towards 
the support of burdens that they helped bring upon her, 
and they tvill answer by striking off all dependence.'' 

Towards the close of the war with France, complaint 
arose in New England particularly concerning ^^ Writs 
of Assistance.'' These Writs authorized any British offi- 
cial to enter, upon suspicion only, any house in search of 
evidence of violation of the navigation laws, ^^its of 
The policy of issuing these Writs began with Assistance 
Pitt, who had wrought wonders in bringing the French 
and Indian wars to a successful close. The object of 

* Nevertheless, the love of individual self-government in those days of 
difficult communication was so great that the colonies were no more willing 
to grant power to a central government of their own, in which they all had 
representatives, than they were to acknowledge the authority of the British 
Parliament in which none of them wasi represented. Their resistance to 
British rule all but failed on account of the weakness of the colonial or 
" continental " Congress, 



136 CONTROVERSY WITH KING AND PARLIAMENT 

issuing them was not so much to recover lost revenue but 
to stop what Pitt himself rightly called an ^^ illegal and 
most pernicious trade,'' by which the French were be- 
ing supplied with provisions and other necessaries 
enabling them *'to sustain and protract this long and 
expensive war.'' 

In other words, there were a number of traders in certain of 
the American colonies who made large profits in supplying the 
enemy in time of war. Naturally, the British government took 
steps to end this state of affairs, and it was justified in so doing. 
When the war had ended, however, it was proposed to continue 
the Writs of Assistance in order to put an end to smuggling. 
But these Writs were ''autocratic by nature" and violated an 
age-long tradition in English hfe that ''a man's house is his 
castle, ' ' into which no officer of the law may pry except for definite 
cause. Any power of arbitrary search such as this was liable to 
every form of abuse, particularly in the hands of unscrupu- 
lous officials. 

When new Writs of Assistance were about to be issued 
in 1761 it was the duty of James Otis, a colonial Advocate- 
General of Boston, to argue for them before the court. 
Instead of doing so, however, Otis resigned Ms office and 
vehemently attacked the principle upon which they were 
based. In a great argument on this occasion, he contended 
against a hind of power the exercise of which had cost one 
king of England his crown and another his head. Otis 
further declared that any act of Parliament contrary to 
the spirit and practice of the English constitution 
^'is void.^' ^ 



^Patrick Henry expanded this thought expressed in the motto of Vir- 
ginia (sic semper tyrannis) when lie declared in his speech against the 
Stamp Act in May, 1765: "'Caesar had his Brutus; Charles the First, his 
Cromwell; and George the Third (here he was interrupted by cries of 



PROBLEMS OF THE BRITISH DEBT 137 

Otis lost the case, but his address was published and 
widely read throughout the colonies. In 1763, George III 
called upon George Grenville to cany out a definite policy 
towards the colonies which would compel them to pay 
some share of the expenses of guarding p 
them against future attacks. At that time, British Debt 

'-' ' and Colonial 

Great Britain was staggering under the larg- Protection 
est national debt of her existence. This debt amounted 
in Great Britain to the exceptional sum of sixteen pounds 
($80) a head. It had been incurred in large part, at least, 
in the defense of two million colonists in America, whose 
debt was reckoned at less than half a pound each. 

The various Indian wars (page 106) which took place 
after the overthrow of New France indicated the need 
of a standing British army in America to guard the fron- 
tier. Evidence of this seemed to be supplied by the colo- 
nists themselves. George Washington repeatedly com- 
plained of the impossibility of getting colonial troops on 
the field in time, and, on several occasions, a few British 
regulars had saved the day. The Pennsylvania legisla- 
ture, under the control of the eastern half and the Quakers, 
refused to provide protection for the Scotch-Irish of the 
West, and many of these daring pioneers were massacred 
as the Indians swept from one end of western Pennsyl- 
vania to the other. England, therefore, was convinced 
that the colonies needed military protection and she ex- 

" Treason! " from the Speaker and other Burg^es&es, but he concluded) — 
" and George the Third may profit by their example. If this be treason, 
make the most of it." Again he said, in perhaps the most famous of his 
speeches, which was delivered March 23, 1775: "Is life so dear, or peace 
so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains of slavery? Forbid it, 
Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, 
give me liberty, or give me death ! " 



138 CONTROVERSY WITH KING AND PARLIAMENT 

pected them to pay for such protection in the future. She 
did not ask the colonies to pay the expenses of the past, 
although these were very great. In all this, the contention 
of the British government appeared just and reasonable. 

On the other hand, the colonists were practically 
agreed, and always had been, in opposition to the estab- 
lishment of a standing army in America, for fear, and 
with reason, that such troops might, in time, be used to 
curtail self-government and the liberty of the individual 
citizen.^ The British ministry, knowing that the colonial 
assemblies would refuse to vote directly for any funds for 
a British army in America^ determined to get the money 
for this purpose by enforcing at least some of the Navi- 
gation Acts and making them a source of revenue to tJie 
government rather than a benefit to certain classes of 
English merchants. In addition, they intended to raise 
money for the pay of the troops by internal colonial taxes, 
tvhich had not been before attempted. This led to the 
passage of the famous ^' Stamp Act. '^ 

In 1764, in the pursuance of new orders, many colonial 
ships and cargoes of goods were suddenly seized; and, in 
the same year, a special Sugar Act was passed supplant- 
ing the one enacted in 1733, which had not been enforced. 
The machinery of this new law was made more effect ive, 

" This opposition to a standing army is well expressed in one of the 
resolutions of the Virginia Convention called together in March, 1775: 

" Resolved, That a well-regulated militia, composed of Gentlemen and 
Yeomen, is the natural strength, and only security of a free Government; 
that such Militia in this Colony would forever render it unnecessary for 
the Mother Country to keep among us, for the purpose of our defense, any 
Standing Army of mercenary forces, always subversive of the quiet, and 
dangerous to the liberties of the people, and would obviate the pretext of 
taxing us for their support." 

Compare, also. Amendments 11, 111, IV, Constitution of the United 
States. 



THE STAMP ACT 139 

and colonial trade with the French West Indies was alto- 
gether forbidden. All these regulations were extremely 
irritating to colonists already grown suspicious ^j^^ 
about British interference in self-government. ^^'^^^ ^'^^ 
In 1765, however, the announcement of another Act set 
the colonists aflame with resistance, if not actual rebellion. 
This new legislation is known as the Stamp Act, and from 
the British ministry word had been sent to the colonies 
about its possible passage the year before. The colonists, 
however, were busy with their o^vn affairs and the few 
protests which came from them to Grenville were not laid 
before Parliament. Parliament, therefore, hearing no 
objections, and acting upon the basis of a law then in 
force in Great Britain, passed the Stamp Act. This Act 
provided that all public documents such as wills, deeds, 
and mortgages, and even newspapers and pamphlets, 
should have put upon them a revenue stamp varying in 
value from a few cents to $50."^ 

This time, the most noted protest of the colonists came 
from Patrick Henry in the Virginia House of Burgesses 
at Williamsburg. Previously, in 1763, Henry had de- 
clared that arbitrary acts on the part of a sovereign 
"forfeited obedience on the part of the people." He 
now declared in his resolutions before the Burgesses that 
only the General Assembly of the colony, together ivith 

' In regard to the Sugar Act, Samuel Adams had declared, at Faneuil 
Hall, Boston : " These unexpected Proceedings may be preparatory to new 
Taxations upon us; for if our Trade may be taxed, why not our Lands? 
Why not the produce of our Lands, and everything we possess or make use 
of? " He added that such action on the part of the British government over- 
threw the charter right of the colonists to govern themselves. 

Professor Moses Colt Tyler summed up the matter in saying that the 
colonists " made their stand not against tyranny inflicted, but against 
tyranny anticipated." 



140 CONTROVERSY WITH KING AND PARLIAMENT 



the king or his governor, had ''the right to lay taxes and 
imposts upon the inhabitants of this colony."^ 

Forthwith, similar protests came from spokesmen in 
the other colonies. These protests resulted in further 
efforts toward united action by all the colonies in pro- 
tection of their threatened liberty. At the call of Massa- 
chusetts and South Carolina, representatives from some 
of the colonies met in New York in October, 

Taxation Unjust, ... 

for Colonial 1765. The protest there prepared was simi- 

Representation ^ • p 

Was Impossible ^av ui exprcssiou to the resolutions of 
Patrick Henry denying the right of Parliament to tax 
the colonists at all, although, at first, the colonies did not 

deny that the British government 
had the right to impose tariffs on for- 
eign goods coming into American 
ports. The Stamp Act Congress of 
1765 made it clear that it was the 
opinion of that body that the colo- 
nists could not be taxed in the manner 
proposed unless they were rep- 
resented in Parliament; but the 
resolutions also stated that it was 
impossible for the colonists to be 
so represented. 

The resistance to the sale of 
revenue stamps in the colonies was 
so violent that the agents appointed 
to sell the stamps dared not offer 

** A great storm was then raised in the colonies against the Stamp Act, 
for which Patrick Henry was largely responsible. Prior to this the deter- 
mination to resist the Stamp Act was by no means unanimous. Otis, the 
fiery opponent of the Writs of Assistance (page 136) was in favor of sub- 
mitting, and Benjamin Franklin thought he was seizing time by the fore- 
lock in seeking appointments for his friends as distributors of the stamps. 




PATRICK HENRT 

Born Hanover Co., Va., 
May 29, 1736. Advocate 
of colonial rights; first gov- 
ernor of Commonwealth 
of Virginia, 177G; Com- 
missioned George Rogers 
Clark to raise troops for the 
winning of the northwest. 
Opposed adoption of Con- 
stitution; urged adoption 
of first ten amendments 
thereto. Died 1799. 



FURTHER ACTS AND SUBSEQUENT REPEAL 141 

them. Parliament forthwith repealed the Act; where- 
upon, the joy of the colonists was so great that little notice 
was taken of the declaration promptly made by Parlia- 
ment that it reserved the right to tax the colonies, if it 
saw fit to do so. 

After the repeal of the Stamp Act, Parliament passed 
what are known as the Townshend Acts. These Acts pro- 
vided for special tariffs on glass, paper, lead, 
paints, tea, etc. The tariff on each article ^nd^slfbi^equent 
was a moderate one ; but a new principle was ^^^^ 
now being brought f onvard by Townshend. The revenue 
to be derived from the new taxes was to be used not for 
the protection of the colonies, but to pay the salaries of 
British governors and judges in America. This would 
make the governors in particular independent of the 
people (page 131) ^ 

Furthermore, in 1769, Parliament provided that any colonist 
accused of treason might be taken to England for trial. Like the 
Writs of Assistance, this provision struck at another traditional 
English principle — that of trial hy a neighborhood jury. 

The Virginia Assembly nnaiiimously adopted resolutions de- 
nouncing these new enactments of Parliament as contrary to the 
basic principles of English law and custom. ''Life is more 
precious than property," said one of the delegates, and Colonel 
George Washington declared that here was a matter on which 
^'no one ought to hesitate to take up arms.'' 

The Royal Governor promptly dissolved the House of Bur- 
gesses, but other colonial Assemblies followed the example of 
Virginia, whose voice so clearly raised at this point is all the more 
remarkable because Virginia, then the most populous and poAver- 
ful colony, had been treated with special consideration by both 
King and Parliament. 

" Persons accused of violating or evading the law were to be tried in 
British admiralty courts without juries. 



142 CONTROVERSY WITH KING AND PARLIAMENT 



Again, Parliament yielded, and the new Acts were 
repealed. The tax on tea only ivas maintained. This 
tax was a very light one and King and Parliament hoped 




TABLET ERECTED TO COMMEMORATE THE LADIES TEA PARTY 



that the colonists would submit to it. In that case, the 
principle of taxation hy Parliament tvould be 
established. But the colonists were just as 

shrewd as the British authorities, and they determined 



The Fatal 
Tea Tax 



" THE INTOLERABLE ACTS " 143 

to resist the tea tax, not because it was a hardship, but 
because, if they submitted to it, colonial self-government 
would be endangered. 

Parliament had not only lowered the duty on tea, but had also 
arranged that if the tea were bought from London merchants, 
the colonists could get it cheaper, with the tax, than it could 
he bought anyivhere else, even when brought in by the long accus- 
tomed process of smuggling. Shiploads of tea were then sent 
from Great Britain to leading seaports of the colonies; but the 
people of the colonies had bound themselves not to buy or drink 
the tea. At New York and Philadelphia, the vessels bearing the 
tea were turned back without unloading, and the London mer- 
chants thereby saved those cargoes. In Boston, men disguised 
as Indians boarded the tea ships at night and threw nearl}^ 
$100,000 worth of the tea into the harbor. At Annapolis, a 
number of his neig'hbors compelled Anthony Stewart, a Marjdand 
importer, to set fire to his ovn\ vessel because it had a cargo of 
obnoxious tea on board. At Charleston, the tea Avas seized b}^ 
the citizens of that port and stored away, to be brought out some 
years later and sold for the benefit of the South Carolina troops 
in the War for Independence. 

The British merchants who had suffered this very 
serious loss of property aroused the officials of the British 
government to take summary action, so that the ministry 
resolved to proceed to more severe measures against colo- 
nists who not only destroyed private property, but openly 
defied the acts of Parliament. That body passed, 
therefore, in 1774, what the Americans called intolerable 

Acts" 

^'The Intolerable Acts." These were: (1) The 
Boston Port Bill, which closed the port of Boston to com- 
merce until the tea destroyed there should be paid for; 
(2) the Massachusetts Government Act, which was in- 
tended to deprive Massachusetts of the self-government 
she had so long enjoyed; (3) the Administration of Jus- 



144 CONTROVERSY WITH KING AND PARLIAMENT 




tice Act, which provided for the trial in England of all 
British officials accused of murder in Massachusetts; 
(4) an Act for the quartering of British troops in Boston ; 
and (5) the Quebec Act, which was to shut off the western 
expansion of the colonies by including more of the terri- 
tory west of the Alleghanies in 
the Canadian Province of Quebec. 
Four of these Acts were aimed 
especially at the colony of Massa- 
chusetts. The British authorities 
knew that previous efforts to se- 
cure united action by the colonies 
had failed, and they tJiought they 
could treat with Massachusetts 
separately. In this they proved 
to be greatly mistaken ; for, in the 
face of a common threat, the 
other colonies forgot their former 
jealousies and declared that they 
ivould make the cause of Massa- 
chusetts the cause of all alike. 
The day on which the Boston 
Port Bill went into effect was 
made a day of fasting and prayer 
in Pennsylvania and Virginia. South Carolina gener- 
ously sent 209 barrels of rice to Boston; and Colonel 
George Washing-ton said: ^'If need be, I will raise one 
thousand men, subsist them at my own expense, and 
march to the relief of Boston. ''^^ 

^'^ Christopher Gadsden, a delegate from South Carolina to the Stamp 
Act Congress in New York, had previously declared: "There ought to be 
no New Englander nor New Yorker known on this continent, but all of 
us Americans.^^ 



HENRY LAURENS 

Bornin Charleston, South Car- 
olina, 1724. Merchant of London 
and Charleston; in England, in 
1774, he advised Parliament 
against Boston Port Bill; re- 
turned to South Carolina; presi- 
dent Continental Congress, 
1777-78; appointed, 1779, 
United States minister to Hol- 
land, but was seized en route by 
British and confined in London 
Tower; exchanged for Corn- 
wallis; was signer of treaty of 
peace leith Great Britain. Died 
1792. 



BOSTON SETS OFF THE POWDER 145 

The colonies faced a serious crisis. Virginia had not 
been represented at the Stamp Act Congress of 1765 ; but 
she now took the lead in calling a meeting of what became 
known as The First Continental Congress. This Con- 
gress, including representatives from all the 
colonies except Georgia, met at Philadelphia, continental 
September 5, 1774. It prepared petitions to be 
sent to the King and Parliament, in which the members 
united in declaring the right of the several colonies to 
govern and tax themselves. Resolutions of sympathy for 
Massachusetts were passed, and it was agreed to urge the 
people not to buy or use British goods until Parliament 
should repeal the obnoxious measures it had passed. 

It should be recalled that in 1766 William Pitt had been called 
to the aid of the government in an effort to smooth the differences 
between the Mother Country and her colonies, but Pitt's health 
began to fail before he could, as the friend of America, arrange 
for a settlement that might have proved satisfactory. Thereupon, 
George III had called upon Charles Townshend, a minister who 
was abler than Grenville, but of the kind that would support 
the obstinate king. It was Townshend who not only prepared 
the taxation measures above discussed, but who openly aimed to 
put colonial affairs more directl}^ under the control of king and 
Parliament. When he died in 1767, Lord North was called upon 
to carry out the Townshend policies. ^^ 

Events were now approaching a crisis. In Massachu- 
setts there was practically a suspension of royal govern- 
ment. Gloucester had been made the port of 
entry of Massachusetts instead of Boston, and sefs°?ff 
Salem the seat of government. General Gage 

^^ George III was not a bad man. He may be best described in terms 
once used by Woodrow Wilson : " A good man who thinks wrong." His 
privat'V life was commendable and he was a hard worker. He sincerely 
believed, however, in class rule, and could see but one side of a ques- 
tion — the side he felt he ought to see. 

10 



146 CONTROVERSY WITH KING AND PARLIAMENT 




was in charge of the troops quartered in Boston, and 
although he was the regularly appointed governor in 
Massachusetts, his authority was not recognized beyond 
the limits of his military command. 

Incessant trouble and some street fighting followed, 
the most noted of which became 
known as the Boston ^'Massacre.'' 
This clash between citizens and sol- 
diers occurred on March 5, 1770. One 
of the soldiers had been pelted by a 
crowd w4th ^ ^ ice snowballs ' ' and per- 
haps something even harder. Other 
soldiers and an officer ran to his 
rescue, one of whom, severely in- 
jured by a club, shot one of his 
assailants. The rest, believing an 
order to tire had been given, dis- 
charged their muskets into the 
crowd, five of whom were killed and 
six wounded.'' ^^ 
Early in 1775, General Gage received instructions to 
arrest some of the prominent leaders of the patriot party, 
among whom were Samuel Adams and John Hancock! 
These leaders had prudently taken up their residence at 
Lexington instead of in Boston, subsequently to their re- 
turn from the meeting of the Continental Congress in 
1774. It was also the intention of General Gage to seize 
military stores that the Americans had collected at Con- 



JOHN HANCOCK 

Born Braintree, Mass., 
Jan. 23, 1737. Colonial 
leader; president of Conti- 
nental Congress that drew 
up Declaration of Indepen- 
dence ; first governor of 
Massachusetts under State 
Constitution, 1780. Died 
1793. 



Recognizing that the British soldiers had acted under great provoca- 
tion, John Adams and Josiah Quiney, greatly to their credit, defended the 
soldiers before a Boston jury. Two soldiers were lightly punished, while 
the others were acquitted. 



FIGHTING AT LEXINGTON AND CONCORD 147 



cord, a few miles beyond Lexington. A body of 800 
troops was accordingly dispatched early in the 
morning of April 19, 1775, to accomplish the Lexingfoif 

. . 1 TT ^""^ Concord 

double purpose of arrestmg Adams and Han- 
cock and of seizing the supplies at Concord. The march 
was to be made secretly, but the first movement of the 
troops in Boston was detected; so that Paul Revere and 
William Dawes, pickets or watchmen of the minutemen, 
were enabled to set out in advance 
on a midnight ride to warn the 
people of their coming. After 
arousing Lexington, Revere was 
caught by the British ; but Dawes, 
who had pursued a different route 
from Boston, continued his ride 
to Concord. 

The British soldiers now found 
the people arming all along their 
route and word was sent back to 
Boston for reinforcements. At 
daybreak, on the village green at 
Lexington, Major Pitcaim found 
Captain John Parker and 70 min- 
utemen assembled. Pitcairn rode 
up and exclaimed: *^ Disperse, ye 
rebels, disperse ! ' ' The minutemen refused to obey, and 
the soldiers fired with fatal effect. It is not known whether 
the British soldiers fired through a mistake or by orders, 
or whether the minutemen first prepared to fire, but seven 
Americans were killed and ten were wounded as the result 
of the first encounter between American militia and Brit- 
ish regulars. ^'This was the spark which set off a great 




SAMUEL ADAMS 

Born in Boston, 1722; was 
graduated at Harvard, 1740; 
a leader in resistance to rule 
of Parliament. The attempt to 
arrest Adams and Hancock led 
to the first bloodshed at Lex- 
ington. After the Revolution, 
he was, like Patrick Henry, an 
ardent supporter of State rights 
and was opposed to establish- 
ing a powerful Federal govern- 
ment. Died ISO.-^- 



148 CONTROVERSY WITH KING AND PARLIAMENT 

explosion," and for that reason, partly, and because of 
patriotic emphasis, the early American historians 
referred to this small but important clash as ''The Battle 
of Lexington.'' 

The British soldiers continued their march to Concord. 
Here they were opposed by 400 militiamen, who there be- 
gan a continued skirmish-combat, for the whole country-- 
side was awake to the invasion, and minutemen swarmed 




BRITISH RETREAT FROM CONCORD 



from all directions ''like angry bees from overturned 
hives.'' Seeing this, the British commander ordered a 
retreat to Boston. A steady tire was directed upon the 
troops as they at first marched and then ran. The weather 
was unusually warm for a day in April and the soldiers 
suffered from the heat. Scores of them fell on the road 
as the minutemen fired at them from houses, trees, and 
fences along the route. So deadly was this attack that 
only the timely arrival of reinforcements and artillery 



NATURE OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 149 



from Boston saved the troops from annihilation. The 
British loss has been variously estimated to have been 
from 178 to 400. The American loss was 49 killed and 
36 wounded. 

Over the grave of two of the British soldiers who fell 
in this retreat there has been carved these lines by Lowell : 

"They came three thousand yniles and died. 
To keep the Past upon its throne/^ 

NOTES AND SIDELIGHTS 

The Nature of the American Revolution. — We cannot alto- 
gether understand the American Revolution if we think of it 
merely as a strug'gle between Great Britain as the mother country, 
on the one side, and the American colonies 
on the other. On either side, opinion was 
divided. The Revolution represented a 
struggle, fought out on American soil, for 
self-government and against privilege and 
class rule. As a struggle for popular gov- 
ernment, the resistance of the Americans 
met with an astonishing degree of sym- 
pathy from liberal-minded Englishmen, not 
only of the low^r and middle classes, but 
also among the nobility. Hence, it is par- 
ticularly important to bear in mind that 
the final triumph of the colonies promoted 
the cause of popular government in Britain as it did in America, 
except that progress was slower at first but moved more rapidly 
as it seemed that America had succeeded in setting up a stable 
form of government. 

In England, true representative government had been dwin- 
dling for some years. In America, on the contrary, it Avas 
steadily expanding. The great English historian, Lord Macaulay, 
once described the old political conditions in England as having 
passed into ''a monstrous system of represented ruins and nnrep- 
resented cities." In other words, old "boroughs" or towns which 




AMERICAN SOLDIER 
IN THE rXIFORM OF THE 
CONTINENTAL ARMY 



150 CONTROVERSY WITH KING AND PARLIAMENT 

had lost their population continued to have the same voting 
power in Parliament as in previous years, while great new cities 
like Manchester had no direct representation at all. In England 
under the old system, the ministry of George III could control 
Parliament by ''buying up" the ''pocket boroughs" and packing 
that body with ' ' representatives ' ' therefrom. ^"'^ 

Divided Opinion in America.— In America, there were also 
two viewpoints in regard to resistance to the British Kino- and 
Parliament. There were those who, after protest, would for the 
time being, submit to injustice or threatened tvranny in the 
belief that matters would gradually adjust themselves for the 
better. They preferred this temporary submission to any course 
whwh would disrupt the British nation. Others opposed active 
resistance lest it lead to open rebellion, followed by hopeless dis- 
order; for they believed that the American colonies ^' could 
neither unite nor exist separa te'' from Great Britain.^* 

"William Pitt "rejoiced" when America resisted the Townshend acts 
and he further declared that a victory over the colonies might prove fati 
to English liberty AmeHca's fall might, he said, -pulldo^l thecal 

rntZatrrl "''•'' Z^^^^--^^^^' ^^-^ ^--g-- Pitt declared in ParliL- 
ment that if the House of Commons had truly represented the people it 
WO" d never have been possible for George III and his advisers to^cLry on 
the war against the colonies, which he described as being "most ^ccZed 
Avuc^ed, barbarous, cruel, unjust, and diabolical." Edmund Burke author 
of the famous "Speech on Conciliation" with the eolont CWles f'x 
and men of high rank like the Earl of Rockingham and the Dukes «; 
Kichmond, Devons^dre, Portland, and NorthumbeHand/w re polU icalde 
scendants of Sir Edwin Sandvs and the great jrroun of v\.JV i 

. z^:.;:t^- --Set r :.x%f nt^-taTr 

hese colon.es sho.ild ever prove undutiful to tl,«r Mother Country ' 

=£.7? = :2 ::ir^v:™ i"s:: sL- z; 



NORTH CAROLINA ''REGULATORS" 151 

For 150 years the colonies had not only been jealous and 
distrustful of one another, but the larger colonies, which had 
extensive and extending frontiers, had conflicts between the east 
and the west. Reference has been made to the rivalry between 
the east of Pennsylvania with its conservative element and that 
of the frontier democracy of the Scotch-Irish in the west. A not 
dissimilar condition existed in Virginia, where Thomas Jefferson 
(himself a member of the governing class) complained that nine- 
teen thousand men ' ' below the Falls ' ' gave law to thirty thousand 
in the inland districts. In the midst of the Revolution, Governor 
Jefferson proceeded to remedy this state of affairs, enabling Vir- 
ginia thereby to set an example in the practice of democracy 
which was followed by other colonies. In Pennsylvania, also, the 
democratic element finally gained control of the government. 

It may be stated about one-third of the people were opposed 
to war with the Mother Country. At least a part of this element 
was in itself liberal in viewpoint and free from the motives that 
actuated office-seekers or a privileged class. It has been said 
that Lord Fairfax, patron of the youthful Washington, died of a 
broken heart because of Washington's support of a cause which 
threatened to split in twain what was at that time the most 
liberal power on earth ; for it must be remembered that, with all 
her shortcomings. Great Britain had been far more liberal towards 
colonists in the Ncav World than any other European power. 

North Carolina "Regulators." — In both the Carolinas there 
was a struggle between the east and the west. In North Carolina 
particularly, it broke out into actual conflict. When Edmund 
Fanning, in 1763, was appointed register for Orange County in 
western North Carolina, a patriot poet wrote of him : 

' ' When Fanning first to Orange came, 
He looked both pale and wan ; 
An old patched coat upon his back 
An old mare he rode on. 

"Both man and mare wam't worth five pounds. 
As I 've been often told ; 
But by his civil robberies 

He 's laced his coat with gold. 



152 CONTROVERSY WITH KING AND PARLIAMENT 

In order to combat Fanning and men of his type, a body of 
"Regulators" was organized to prevent the collection of taxes. 
This led to a war between the Regulators and an army raised by 
the State Assembly, under the Royal Governor Tryon. Tryon 
was in the end victorious, after a pitched battle with the Regu- 
lators in which some writers have stated as many as 200 were 
killed. The fight occurred on Great Alamance Creek and is 
sometimes referred to as the Battle of Alamance. ^^ 

Fear of Church Control. — It must not be forgotten that an- 
other underlying source of trouble was the fear in the colonies 
of enforced ecclesiastical control by the Church of England, a 
matter significantly referred to by John Adams. Whereas Puri- 
tan New England would necessarily repudiate Anglican bishops, 
Virginia, a colony under the established church itself, also 
objected to the appointment of bishops until after the Revolu- 
tion. This fear was accentuated by the Quebec Act (page 144) 
which legalized the Catholic religion and restored much of the 
French law in Canada. This Act was especially objectionable to 
the English colonies in view of the fact that it extended the 
province of Quebec to include the unsettled district west of the 
mountains between the Great Lakes and the Ohio. 

"Sons of Liberty." — Resistance to the sale of stamps under 
the Stamp Act was directed by a secret organization known as 
* ' The Sons of Liberty. ' ' They so threatened the duly appointed 
distributors of the stamps that when the time came for the use 
of the stamps under the law the stamp officials had all resigned 
and no stamps were to be had. At the same time, payments of 
colonial debts to British merchants w^re held up, and these mer- 
chants promptly besought Parliament to repeal the obnoxious law. 

Committees of Correspondence. — Undoubtedly in all the 
period of protest by words and deeds against Parliamentary inter- 
ference with self-government in America, the colonies were con- 
tending for a great principle. But almost always when people 

" Governor Tryon was afterwards the royal governor of New York. 
Prior to the Revolution he offered a reward of about $1000 for the capture 
of Ethan Allen, who led the Green Mountain Boys in seizing Tieonderoga. 
Tryon later proposed a scheme to seize or assassinate George Washington, 

Fanning has been called "the first carpet-bagger" (page 359). 



COMMITTEES OF CORRESPONDENCE 153 

act in defiance of laws, even if they be wrong, the manner of the 
protest is marred by methods which cannot be justified. Impar- 
tial history should aim to tell the whole truth, or in limited 
space, as much of the story, at least, as will present a picture 
that is fair to either side. The acquittal by a Massachusetts jury 
of the British soldiers concerned in the so-called Boston "mas- 
sacre" showed not onl}^ that the mob had been at fault, but it 
showed, also, that Massachusetts men, such as Adams and Quincy, 
would volunteer to do the right thing and that a colonial jury 
could be fair-minded. Again, in the midst of the patriotic protest 
against the Stamp Act, Governor Hutchinson's house was sacked, 
while similar disgraceful acts were committed in various sea- 
board cities. 

In Rhode Island a high-handed act provoked a threat of 
t^^rannj^ from the British government and the threat of tyranny 
in Rhode Island was followed by a strong protest and 
far more important action in distant Virginia, which, like 
the previous resolutions of Patrick Henry, was to have far- 
reaching consequences. 

In pursuing a smuggler, a British revenue vessel, the Gaspee, 
ran aground oif the coast of Rhode Island. It was boarded by 
armed men, led by a well-known merchant ; its commander was 
shot and the crew put ashore ; and the vessel burned. The British 
government took steps to apprehend those who were guilty and 
transport them to England for trial. Upon hearing the news, 
the Virginia House of Burgesses passed new resolutions of pro- 
test against the principle of the trial in England of alleged 
offenders in the colonies. This time, however, the House prepared 
a plan for united action. A standing committee on correspon- 
dence was appointed, and it was moved and carried that the 
appointment of similar committees be urged upon the other 
colonies. This was an important step towards concerted action — 
''in many respects, the most remarkable get-together movement 
of colonial times. ' ' On this appeal from Virginia, correspondence 
committees were duly appointed by the other colonies.^" 

" The resolutions passed the Virginia House of Burgesses March 12, 
1773, but so rapidly were the colonial committees of correspondence created, 
that on July 2nd, the l^ew Hampshire Gazette recorded: 



154 CONTROVERSY WITH KING AND PARLIAMENT 

Dunmore*s Departure; Independence of Virginia. — After 
defying tlie orders of Governor Dunmore against popular con- 
ventions called in support of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, 
the Virginia House of Burgesses was summoned by Dunmore to 
consider a proposal from Lord North, the intention of which was 
to detach Virginia from the cause of her sister colonies. The 
Virginians not only refused to be led aside, but passed resolutions 
endorsing the proceedings of the colonial conventions which Dun- 
more had termed ' ' acts of sedition. ' ' Then, when the Burgesses 
began to call in question the conduct of the Governor himself, 
Dunmore, in alarm, betook himself aboard a royal ship.^^ He soon 
declared the colony to be in a state of war, harried the coasts of 
Virginia, ai:d, in the hopes of arousing the negro slaves, issued a 
proclamation of emancipation in the following words : 

' ' I do require every person capable of bearing arms to resort 
to his Majesty's standard, or be looked upon as traitors to His 
Majesty's crown and Government, and thereby become liable to 
the penalty the law inflicts upon such offences — such as forfeitures 
of life, confiscation of lands, etc., etc., and I do hereby further 
declare all indented servants, Negroes, or others (appertaining 
to Rebels) , free, that are able and \\dlling to bear arms, they join- 
ing His Majesty's Troops, as soon as may be, for the more 
speedily reducing this Colony to a proper sense of their duty to 
His Majesty's crown and dignity." 

" The Union of the Colonies which is now taking place is big with the 
most important Advantages to this Continent. . . . Let it be the 
study of all to make the Union firm and perpetual, as it will be the great 
Basis for Liberty and every public Blessing in America." 

That part of the Virginia resolutions which refers directly to the 
Gaspee affair in Rhode Island reads: 

" Resolved, That it be an instruction to the said Committee, that they 
do, without delay, inform themselves particularly of the principles and 
Authority, on which was constituted a Court of Inquiry, said to have been 
lately held in Rhode Island, with Powers to transmit Persons accused of 
Offences committed in America to places beyond the Seas, to be tried." 

" The Governor had previously ordered the removal of a supply of 
powder from the magazine at Williamsburg. Patrick Henry immedi- 
ately organized a force of militia and marched to the rescue of the 
powder. A compromise was effected under the terms of which Dunmore 
agreed to pay for the powder as the property of the colony. 



CHARACTER OF THE LEADERS OF VIRGINIA 155 

Later, on December 9, Diinmore's ro.yalists were defeated by 
the Virginia militia under Colonel Woodford in au engagement 
at Great Bridge near Norfolk. He then burned Norfolk and 
retired again to His Majesty 'vS war vessels. 

The Character of the Colonial Leaders of Virginia. — 
American history offers nothing more inspiring than the large- 
mindedness, wisdom, and foresight of the Virginia leaders in their 
support of Massachusetts. Themselves living in the oldest, 
largest, most powerful, and populous of the thirteen colonies, they 
might very easily have persuaded themselves to think that the 
difficulties of distant Massachusetts were no concern of theirs; 
but the public policy of colonial Virginia was then under the 
guidance of as remarkable a group of leaders as the w^orld has 
ever seen — worthy successors of the patriot statesmen of the 
Elizabethan age who had established for pioneer Englishmen the 
first forms of self-government. It is well known that men in 
destitute circumstances have less to risk and perhaps everything 
to gain in joining battle for change or revolution, but in the ten 
years between 1765 and 1775 these Virginians refused special 
favors offered them by the British ministrj^, and not only risked 
their lives, but comfort, ease, and large possessions for the sake of 
abstract principles of justice and right, unhesitatingly hastening 
to the call for aid of fellow colonists almost as far removed from 
them in those days as the "farthermost ends of the earth" would 
be to the United States of to-dav." 



^^ Cf. especially writings of John Fiske and Professor Willis M. 
West on this period of American history. See " Source Book " of 
the latter. 



CHAPTER YII 

The AiNTERicAN Revolution, 1775-1783 

I. FROM ARMED RESISTANCE TO THE DECLARATION 
OF INDEPENDENCE 

Up to the clash of the 19th of April at Lexington and Con- 
cord, resistance to King and Parliament had been through pro- 
test ; in that period, Avhen force had been used, it was resorted to 
by group action without authorized organization. After the 
19th, the question was not whether the '' period of debate " 
should continue but whether resistance should be open and 
organized. In the notes and sidelights of the preceding chapter 
reference has been made to divided opinions in the colonies. 
From this time on, such division became more distinctly marked. 
What came to be known as the patriot party was in the minority, 
but that minority was well represented and insistent. 

There was turmoil and uncertainty in all of the colonies 
from Maine to Georgia. In many of them, the regular forms 
of government broke down. The governors refused to call 
assemblies and the colonies refused to permit the British courts 
to act. In lieu of government b}^ legislature or 
Provisional^ court, local committccs set up "provisional govern- 
GovIrSits^ ments" which were intended to last until ''the 
restoration of harmony with Great Britain. ' ' Pro- 
vincial conventions were held in several colonies, and some of 
these bodies became de facto or acting governments engaged in 
organizing troops, raising money, and assuming the functions of 
regularly ordered governments. Their acts were "recommenda- 
tions," but these recommendations were enforced as if they were 
laws. In view of the fact that at this time Massachusetts was 
under duress and not free to act, and since Virginia was the 
leading colony, it is of special advantage to follow the develop- 
ment of independent government in the "Old Dominion." What 
took place in Virginia was very largely true of other colonies. 

In the first place, county gatherings, corresponding to the 
156 




85 LoDgitude 



EVENTS IN MASSACHUSETTS 157 

New England town meetings, preceded the gathering of a con- 
vention for the whole colony. The first convention of August, 
1774, was followed in orderly fashion by the second in March, 
1775 ; this, in turn, prepared the way for another and a longer 
session in the future. 

When Governor Dunmore found he could not prevent these 
conventions, which were acting independently of him, but whose 
recommendations were obeyed as laws, he sought the safety of 
a British warship in case open rebellion should begin. There- 
upon, the members of the House of Burgesses expressed their 
deep regret that their governor should in such manner ''desert" 
the ship of state. The House then adjourned and with its ad- 
journment Virgima hecame an independent commonwealth, 
June 24, 1775. 

In place of the old Assembh^ the Third Convention, author- 
ized hy the people onhj, gathered at Richmond some three weeks 
later and assumed the functions of government.^ ' ' Recommenda- 
tions" now became laws in name as well as fact. This Virginia 
Convention, a full-fledged representative body of legislators, 
elected a "committee of safety," and appointed a colonial treas- 
urer and other officials. In the winter of 1776, it dissolved itself 
in order that the people might select another body to pass upon 
the questions of independence and permanent government. It 
was from this fourth Convention that the motion for colonial 
independence was carried before the Continental Congress by 
Delegate Richard Henry Lee ; and it was likewise this Conven- 
tion which drew up the Virginia Bill of Rights, one of the 
greatest of American political declarations and one quite differ- 
ent from any other governmental document ever issued any- 
where (page 164). 

The colonists were not yet fighting for independence. Never- 
theless, open conflict had begun, and a counter-stroke to the Con- 
cord raid was promptly planned b}^ the Americans. In a few 
days, therefore, General Gage found himself be- Events in 
sieged in Boston by an army of militia numbering Massachusetts 
from 12.000 to 20.000 men. On th'^ British side. Generals Howe, 

^A convention sitting at Williamsburg, the old colonial capital, 
would have been within easy rang^e of the guns of His Majesty's men-of-war. 



158 THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, 1775-1783 

Clinton, and Burgoyne arrived "with reinforcements, making a 
total of about 10,000 regiilars.- 

The Americans now determined to seize Bunker Hill on the 
Charlestown peninsula. To that point 1200 men were dispatched 
on the night of June 16th under Colonel Prescott, who, however, 
fortified Breed's Hill instead, which was nearer the city. In 
the morning the British discovered that the Americans had 
thrown up intrenchments and were threatening their control 
of Boston. 

Three thousand regulars of the British Army, under com- 
mand of General Howe, were ordered to make a frontal attack 
on the Americans, with the evident expectation that the un- 
trained militia would fire a volley and flee at their approach. 
Bunker ^^^^ Americans were inadequately supplied with powder, 
Hill but they had decided upon an unusual plan to make the 
most of what they had. Orders were given not to fire until the 
long, steady lines of '' redcoats'' were almost upon them. Then, 
at the command, a leaden storm broke over the British troops, 
killing man}^ and driving the rest down the hill. At the bottom 
their officers reorganized them and again they marched up to 
the American intrenchments. Again the Americans mowed them 
down with steady aim, only to see them re-form and prepare 
for the third charge. This time the British were successful, for 
the Americans' supply of powder had become exhausted and 
they were compelled to retire from the heights of the Charles- 
to^vn peninsula.^ 

Although this first real conflict resulted in defeat for the 
Americans, the conduct of the militia inspired the colonial troops 
with confidence and demonstrated an ability to cope with the 

^ The colonists were fighting to force a change in the British ministry 
and policies. Even after he had been called to the command of the Ameri- 
can military forces, Washington sincerely assured his fellow-countrymen in 
New York that he would do everything in his power to reestablish " peace 
and harmony between the mother country and the colonies." For a long 
time, Washington referred to the British army as the " ministerial troops." 

^ Charles Francis iVdams has shown in " Studies Military and Diplo- 
matic " that it was fortvmate that the Americans were thus defeated, for 
they would surely have been, in time, cut off by the British fleet and forced 
to surrender at discretion. 



WASHINGTON BESIEGES BOSTON 159 

trained soldiers of the British army. The British loss in killed 
and wounded was 1054, of whom 157 were officers, Major Pit- 
cairn being among those killed. The American loss was 449, the 
most notable among* the slain being General Joseph Warren, 
of Boston. 

In the meantime, on the 10th of May, 1775, the Second Con- 
tinental Congress met at Philadelphia. Colonial opposition had 
now gone so far that it was necessary for this Congress to assume 
some general authority over all the colonies with the congress vs. 
consent of the representatives of each. Among the Parliament 
first things that the Congress did was to adopt the forces around 
Boston as the Continental army, the term "Continental" now 
coming into use to represent the colonies acting collectively. ^ It 
appointed Washington commander of the army, issued paper 
money, and called for additional troops. Congress, however, still 
acknowledged the King of England as its lawful head, and thus 
there ensued a conflict hetween the American Congress and the 
British Parliament for one year; but as George III was found 
to be irrevocably on the side of Parliament, Congress and the 
colonies were forced to declare themselves independent. 

Washington took up his duties as commander-in-chief of the 
Continental forces on July 2, 1775, and at once began the difficult 
task of forming an effective fighting organization out of raw 
colonial militia. Although American privateers had „ ^, ^ 

, . . . . Washington 

already begun to capture ships carrying munitions Besieges 
from England, an insufficient supply of powder, 
guns, and equipment rendered Washington's position perilous. 
Notwithstanding this lack of material, Washington planned for 
the closer investment of the city of Boston, while recruits began 
to come in from other colonies.'^ 

* Among these was a band of one hundred volunteers under Daniel 
Morgan, who marched the entire distance from their homes in the Valley 
of Virginia. Their rude fringed hunting shirts proved an object of mirth 
to the Massachusetts militia, but Morgan's riflemen soon demonstrated 
their real worth in battle. 

At this time a Continental flag was adopted, which was composed of 
thirteen alternate red and white stripes to represent the colonies, and the 
double cross of the British flag to represent their continued allegiance to 
the king. The Continental army adopted a uniform of l)lue and buff", al- 
though, as a rule, the soldiers wore hunting shirts, which were dyed brown. 



160 THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, 1775-1783 




The British, on their part, made no energetic efforts to assail 
the entrenchments of the Americans; so that Washington, in- 
stead of fighting, was confronted by. the even more difficult task 

of maintaining discipline for many 
months in an army of citizen-soldiery 
very much given to personal inde- 
pendence of action. In truth, the 
militia had enlisted for a short time 
only, so that, at one period of the 
siege, Washington had practically to 
organize a new army in the face of 
the enemy. 

In March, 1776, a night movement 
was carried out in which Dorchester 
Heights, commanding the city of Bos- 
ton on the south, was seized and forti- 
fied. This movement made Boston 
untenable by the British, so that after 
a siege which had lasted nearly a year 
Boston was evacuated and the Brit- 
ish forces went from there to Halifax. 
There was no more fighting of special 
consequence in New England through- 
out the war. The scenes of the remaining battles of the Revolu- 
tion were to be laid in the middle and southern colonies. 

In the other colonies where there was as yet no large force 
of British troops, there was manifested the same spirit of deter- 
mined resistance to the domination of Parliament. In the event- 
ful months of April, 1775, the people of North 
Carolina drove the royal governor out of the colony ; 
and, in the following month, at Charlotte, North 
Carolina, the citizens of Mecklenburg County declared the Brit- 
ish government suspended. Part of the British plan for 1776 
included the invasion of North Carolina under General Clinton 
and Sir Peter Parker. There were many Scotch highland royal- 
ists in the colony, who hastened to raise a force to cooperate with 
the British. About 1600 of these loyalists under Donald Mac- 
Donald marched down the Cape Fear River, and at Moore's 



DANIEL MORGAN 

Born in New Jersey, 1736; 
moved to Virginia in 1753; two 
years later served as teamster 
under Braddock; in the Revolu- 
tion served with distinction in 
New England and the Middle 
States; commanded at Cowpens; 
member of Congress, 1795-'99. 
Died at Winchester, Virginia, 
1802. 



The First 
Campaign 
in the South 



THE FIRST CAMPAIGN IN THE SOUTH 161 



Creek Bridge, February 27, 1776, fiercel}^ attacked 1000 patriot 
riflemen under Colonels Caswell and Lillington. The patriot 
party was victorious, capturing several hundred of the loyalists. 




WAR MAP OF THE SOUTH DURING THE REVOLUTION 

Hence, Sir Peter Parker, not finding the assistance he had hoped 
for, passed on to South Carolina. 

Under the lead of Henry Laurens, the patriot party in 
South Carolina had seized the royal arsenal and munitions of 
war long before the news of Lexington and Concord had reached 
11 



162 THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, 1775-1783 

that colony. Some months later, the royal governor withdrew 

from the colony and John Rntledge was vested by 

an? th^e°"^**^^^ the Colonial Assembly with the power of Governor. 

Defense of Under Rutledoc, 5000 Carolina militia were enlisted 

Charleston * ' 

for the defense of that colony. Charleston, its lead- 
ing seaport, was then one of the most prosperous of the American 
cities. In June, 1776, Clinton and Parker prepared to reduce 
it to submission. In the meantime, however. Colonel William 
Moultrie, with ^' a kind of careless skill," had constructed forti- 
fications of palmetto logs at the southern end of Sullivan's 
Island, at the entrance to the harbor of Charleston. Here was 
placed a defending force of about 1200 men, while several hun- 
dred men and a battery w^re sent to defend the northern end 
of the island against a possible landing party. 

The British attack began on the morning of June 28, 1776, 
and consisted of a bombardment of Fort Sullivan from a fleet of 
war vessels, aided by a landing force of several thousand men 
under Sir Henry Clinton. The latter were soon driven back by 
the battery at the north end of the island, but the fleet began 
a heavj^ bombardment that lasted ten hours. The Americans 
returned the cannonade with great effect, while the shot of the 
British sank almost harmlessly into the soft palmetto logs. As at 
Bunker Hill, the powder supply w^as meagre ; but the Americans, 
using to advantage what they had, fired with the cool precision 
of trained soldiers, and did terrible execution on board the Brit- 
ish ships. The flagship of Admiral Parker w^as made a wreck, 
he himself was wounded, and only one of the other nine vessels 
was immediately able to put to sea after the battle. No more 
disastrous repulse of the British armament is reported in history. 
It was the first decisive American victory, and, since it preceded 
the Declaration of Independence hut a few days, the news of the 
residt must have nerved the hearts of the Americans for that 
great annoiincement. 

II. From the Declaration of Independence to Yorktown 
AND THE Treaty of Peace 

From the flrst bloodshed at Lexington in April, 1775, to the 
signal success of the South Carolinians at Charleston in June, 



DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 163 

1776, a state of war had existed between the colonies and the 
mother country. There had been some form of conflict with 
British authority in every one of the colonies; but throughout 
this period, although the colonists were shooting the King's 
soldiers, they were all the wiiile declaring- that they were loyal 
subjects of His Majest}'. This curious condition could not 
last indefinitely. 

A number of events contributed to hasten a change of atti- 
tude on the part of the colonies. In the first place, although 
a number of officers in the British service had resigned rather 
than serve in America against their countrymen, and although 
the people of London had declared their opposi- 
tion to measures ''designed to oppress our fel- Leading ^pYo^'^'^^^ 
low-subiects ' ' in the colonies, it was clearly seen ^^% Declaration 

'' , ' •^01 Independence 

that those m the mother country who advocated 
concession or conciliation had little influence with Parliament or 
the King. On the other hand, the King and Parliament were 
now ready to proceed to extreme measures. Large sums of money 
were expended in securing thousands of mercenary troops from 
foreign countries to carry on the war against the colonies. Fur- 
thermore, some of the exposed toA\Tis on the Atlantic coast had 
been harshly treated by British frigates.^ 

These events, therefore, greatly quickened a sentiment that 
had been setting strongly toward a declaration of complete inde- 
pendence of the mother country. Georgia was the first colony 
to give freedom of action to her delegates in Congress. North 
Carolina, elated over her victory at Moore's Creek Bridge, em- 
powered her delegates to vote for independence. This was on 
the 12th of April, 1776. In the same month, Massachusetts and 

^ In January, 1776, a pamphlet was published in Philadelphia under 
the title of " Common Sense." It was written by Thomas Paine, an Eng- 
lishman who had recently emigrated to the colonies. Paine wrote that, 
" The period of debate is closed ; arms, as the last resource, must decide." 
This pamphlet strikingly presented the arguments for independence, which 
were thus given a wide circulation among the people. 

The petty princes of a number of small states in central Europe were 
in the habit of selling the services of their subjects to any who would pay 
for them. As a number of troops paid for in this fashion came from, Hesse- 
Cassel, the colonists came to call all such soldiers Hessians. 



164 THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, 1775-1783 

Rhode Island took steps to give their delegates similar instruc- 
tions. Virginia began to declare her choice in the elections to a 
special convention in April, and, in May, this fourth popular 
convention of that colony met at Williamsburg and unanimouslij 
instructed its delegates to declare for independence. Further- 
more, George Mason drew up a document declaring independence 
for Virginia and, for the first time in American history, setting 
forth what are known as the ''inalienable rights of man" that 
were later to be incorporated, in improved form, by Thomas 
eJefferson in the Declaration of Independence for all the colonies. 

As a direct consequence of the action of the Virginia Con- 
vention, Richard Henry Lee, on June 7th, presented in the Con- 
tinental Congress the formal motion : ' ' That these United Col- 
onies are, and of a right ought to be, free and independent 
The Declaration States; that they are absolved from all allegiance 
of Independence ^^ ^^^ British crowQ ; and that all political con- 
nection between them and the State of Great Britain is and 
ought to be totally dissolved. ' ' John Adams seconded the mo- 
tion, which was approved by the vote of the delegates from all 
the colonies except New York. The formal Declaration of Inde- 
pendence was then drawn up by Thomas Jefferson and agreed 
to by Congress on July 4.*^ 

Copies of the Declaration were sent to the acting legislatures 
of the thirteen States. The Assembly of New York was the 
first to ratify the document on July 9. Other assemblies fol- 
lowed in giving their sanction, and the work of the Congress was 
thus approved by all the newly created States. 

The British government was not yet willing to acknowledge 
the independence of the American colonies, and the theatre of 
conflict was transferred to the middle States, where it was 

* The committee which was appointed to draw up the Declaration of 
Independence consisted of such able leaders as Thomas Jefferson, John 
Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston. 
The draft prepared by Thomas Jefferson was accepted almost in its en- 
tirety, and the general principles outlined in the same were very similar to 
the declaration of George Mason in the Virginia Bill of Rights, page 157. 

The delegates from New York were excused from voting on the Declara- 
tion on the ground that they had not received instructions. 



BATTLE OF LONG ISLAND 



165 




thought that the British cause would have a greater measure of 
success than had been met with in New England and the Caro- 
linas. In New York there were a 
number of royalists who were becom- 
ing active in opposition to the patriot 
party. Many of these ''Tories," as 
they came to be called, owned large 
tracts of land and other property. 
They were too comfortably situated 
to desire any change or risk the 
chances of war. In Pennsylvania, 
also, in spite of the voice and influence 
of Franklin ana Robert Morris, "the 
financier of the Revolution," there 
was considerable opposition to the 
war, due, in part, to the Quaker senti- 
ment in that colony. 

The British first turned their at- 
tention to New York with the purpose 
of capturing the line of the Hudson 
and cutting the "rebel colonies" in 
twain. To meet this menace, Wash- 
ington sent a large part of his effective 
fighting strength, under Generals 
Putnam and Sullivan, to hold Brook- 
lyn Heights on Long Island. Against these Howe dispatched 
a force of 20,000 men, who turned the American flank, and "the 
battle was won before it was begun." Many of 
the Americans were killed and hundreds cap- 
tured, but the bravery and determined resistance 
of some 400 Maryland troops cheeked the British 
advance. This, together with a heayv^ storm and 
the British slowTiess of movement, saved this portion of the Con- 
tinental army, and enabled Washington to rescue the remnant 
of his force two days later. Washington was now compelled to 
abandon New York City, not, however, without disputing the 
advance of the enemy in several minor engagements. 



BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 

Born Boston, Mass , Jan. 17, 
.1.706; moved to Philadelphia 
and became a printer and jour- 
nalist; prominent in drawing 
up Declaration of Indepen- 
dence represented the Confed- 
erated States at Paris, securing 
French treaty; President of 
Penns.vlvania after the Revolu- 
tion; member of Constitutional 
Convention; scientist and phil- 
osopher; died in Philadelphia, 
1790. 



Battle of 
Long Island 
for Possession 
of New York City 
Aug. 17, 1776. 



166 THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, 1775-1783 



The main bod}' of the American army continued to retreat 
from the neighborhood of New York westward and southward 
through New Jersey, leaving a division under General Charles 
Lee on the east side of the Hudson. Through New Jersey, Wash- 
ington was pursued by Cornwallis and Howe. It 
was late in the fall, and although the American 
troops were suffering severely from cold and the 
lack of adequate clothing, Washington had never- 
theless been desirous of turning upon the British 
and giving battle ; but his order to General Lee to bring up the 
rest of the army was wilfully disobeyed by the latter. Conse- 
quently, Washington 



First Campaign 
in New Jersey; 
Engagement at 
Trenton and 
Princeton, 
1776, 1777 



moved his army across 
the Delaware into Penn- 
sylvania. The British, 
however, did not cross 
into Pennsylvania dur- 
ing the winter because 
it seemed to them that 



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"Wlest .Chester 



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J^Camden 



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Wlmington '^ 



the American army was 
already demoralized and 
might be wholly disbanded 
in a short while. Several 
thousand people of New 
Jersey accepted the oath of 
allegiance offered by Lord 
Howe, and the Continental 
Congress fled from Phila- 
delphia to Baltimore. When, therefore, the British commander 
went into winter quarters, he confidentl}^ expected to have little 
further trouble, and that he Avould march into Philadelphia in the 
spring. He did not, however, consider the courage and fixed 



^1 



THE NEW JERSEY CAMPAIGN 



FIRST CAMPAIGN IN NEW JERSEY 167 

purpose of George Washington, the great leader of the American 
cause. Moreover, Thomas Paine, the author of ' ' Common Sense, ' ' 
which had in considerable measure prepared the minds of men for 
independence, now wrote a stirring pamphlet widely appealing to 
all to stand fast in these "times that try men's souls/' ^ 

The patriot cause was truly at a low ebb. Again, the local 
interests and jealousies of the colonies had come to the fore. 
On Christmas Eve, 1776, Washington wrote in despair that, 
after the departure of the New England regiments, who had 
enlisted for a brief period only, and who refused to reenlist after 
the first of the following year, he would he left with less than 
eight depleted regiments, five of which were from his own 
State of Virginia. These troops w^ere to bear the brunt of the 
engagements for the two years which followed. 

Washington was aware that something must be done at once, 
or the cause for which he was fighting would be lost. Having, 
therefore, first carefully secured information as to the location 
of the different posts of the enemy, he determined to attack a 
bod}^ of Hessians encamped at Trenton, New Jersey. Of three 
divisions of his army directed to cross the Delaware, the one le-d 
by Washington in person alone succeeded. This division strug- 
gled several hours amidst the floating ice of the Delaware, and 
the men began their march before dajdight through a storm of 
snow and sleet. Trenton was reached, not at dawn, as intended, 
but several hours later. In a short but sharp encounter in the 
streets of the town, the Americans killed or captured nearly 

' Charles Lee and Thomas Paine were both born in England. The former 
almost brought ruin to the patriot cause at its darkest period. The pen of 
the latter, however, was worth more to the cause of the Revolution than the 
sword of the former at its best. Charles Lee had been an officer in the 
British army, and he was not a member of the Lee family of Virginia. 
Apparently, he had entered the Revolutionary cause not so much from con- 
viction that it was right as for personal or selfish reasons. He had, in his 
failure, somewhat of a counterpart in General Horatio Gates, who had also 
won a reputation as an officer in the British service before he held com- 
mand in the Continental forces. Unfortunately, Congress held high 
opinions of the ability and services of both men and promoted them irre- 
spective of the advice and plans of Washington. 



168 THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, 1775-1783 

the entire British force of 1500 men, besides taking much-needed 
cannon and small arms. Washington had written Congress on 
December 20th that, ''unless something is done, ten days more 
will put an end to the existence of this army." Although his 
two other divisions had failed him, ^ ' something ^ * was done within 
those ''ten day's'^ — something that caused Lord Germain to ex- 
claim in Parliament some weeks afterwards: ''All our hopes were 
blasted by that unhappy affair at Trenton." 

A few days later, Washington, leaving his camp-fires burn- 
ing at Trenton, slipped away from before the overwhelming 
force of Cornwallis, and struck a British detachment a stunning 
blow at Princeton. Although Cornwallis had previously boasted 
that he "had at last run down the old fox," Washington was 
now free to march northward in what the British had felt was 
their "reclaimed province of New Jersey." 

The battle of Princeton took place January 3, 1777, so that 
Avithin ten days Washington had routed two detachments of the 
enemy, captured valuable munitions of war, and had revived 
the hopes and spirits of his countrymen. These victories are 
^. , .., ^ of particular importance in that it convinced 

Timely Aid From t-( i 

France; Enlistment of Lurope that the Untrained American army 

Marquis de Lafayette i-ix-ii-i o .1 . . • r. 

had at its head one oi the great captains oi 
the age. In consequence, the negotiations of Benjamin Franklin, 
Arthur Lee, and Silas Deane at Paris were brought to a success- 
ful consummation; and France promised a fund of about 
$400,000 yearly, with munitions of war. These, however, were 
promised secretly, as France had not declared war against Great 
Britain. A number of Frenchmen personally proffered their 
services to the patriot cause, the most famous of whom was the 
Marquis de Lafayette, who succeeded in reaching America in the 
spring of 1777. Furthermore, the success of the Trenton and 
Princeton campaign aroused the people of New Jerse}^ to organ- 
ize their militia and to attack the outposts of the enemy. Wash- 
Washington ington now felt free to lead his army into winter 
on Guard quarters around Morristown, New Jersey, and the 
British fell back to guard their military stores at Brunswick. 
From this new vantage point, he hoped to prevent the union 
between Howe's forces in New Jersey and tJiose of Burgoyne 



BATTLE OF BENNINGTON, AUGUST 16, 1777 169 

then attempting- to come south, from Canada by way of the 
Hudson Valley. 

In the summer of 1777, Howe attempted to move overland to 
Philadelphia; but, finding Washington's army in front of him, 
he embarked his forces and sailed out to sea and up the Chesa- 
peake, landing near the head of the Bay. At Brandy wine Creek, 
he outflanked and defeated the American forces, September 
11th. Congress fled to Lancaster and to York, and Howe entered 
Philadelphia in triumph. In October, Washington planned to 
surprise the British at Germantown somewhat as he had sur- 
prised them at Trenton. The attack began successfully ; but a 
heavy fog caused confusion in the American forces, and the 
venture failed after considerable losses had been sustained. 
Washington did not withdraw his troops in panic, and many 
sharp skirmishes were had with the British forces until 
the forts on the Delaware fell. In December, he made Forge, 
his headquarters at Valley Forge, on the Schuylkill 
River. The winter of 1777-78 was a severe one ; the soldiers 
were insufficiently provided with food and clothing; and, at 
times, the men had to sit up all night by the side of their firesi 
to keep from freezing to death. 

While Howe was preparing for the march against Phila- 
delphia, General Burgoyne, marching south from Canada, cap- 
tured Ticonderoga. The further the British marched down the 
Hudson Vallev, the more difficult it became for _ ,^, 

" ' . . . « ^ Battle of 

them to secure provisions tor their army ; for Gen- Bennington, 
eral Schuyler, the American commander, had car- 
ried off cattle and food supplies along the proposed line of 
march. When Burgoyne sent Colonel Baum, with a consider- 
able force, to get supplies at Bennington, Vermont, the latter 
was met by Colonel Stark and the ''Green Mountain Boys" and 
utterly defeated.^ 

Burgo\Tie had hoped to meet at Albany a British force 
moving eastward from Lake Ontario ; but this force wa?^ defeated 
by General Herkimer and Benedict Arnold. Finding his sup- 

^ Before the engagement, Stark is reported to have said, pointing to 
the British: "There they are, boys; we beat them to-day, or Molly Stark 
is a widow." 



170 THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, 1775-1783 

plies running low, I^urgoyne was forced to attack tlie Americans 
at Bemis Heights. This attack carne near being wholly success- 
ful, owing to the incompetency of General Gates, 
Burgoyne, wlio had, by ordcr of Congress, superseded the ener- 

|-|_A •< "T 1777 

■ ' getic Schu3^1er. Washington, had, however, spared 

from his own slender forces Daniel Morgan and 500 Virginia 
riflemen. These men, accustomed to forest warfare, helped to 
bring the British into the severest straits ; so that, at Saratoga, 
on October 17th, Burgoyne was obliged to surrender what was 




WASHINGTON AND LAFAYETTE AT VALLEY FORGE 

left of his army, or about 6000 men, together with valuable 
military stores. 

The capture of Burgo.>aie caused great rejoicing throughout 
the country and further contributed to the success of the Amer- 
ican cause by bringing about a treaty with France, which was 
signed in the following winter; but it also gave rise to a most 
mifortunate scandal in Congress and the American 
army. This scandal or conspiracy has been known 
in history as the ' ' Conway Cabal ' ' after the name of 
one of its leaders. In the main, it was an effort to 
belittle the services of Washington and to supersede him in favor 
of General Horatio Gates, called by his friends the ''hero of 
Saratoga ' ' ; although the credit for the success of the New York 



Treaty with 
France; 
the Conway 
Cabal 



BATTLE OF MONMOUTH, JUNE 27, 1778 171 

campaign really belonged to his energetic and efficient subordi- 
nates, Schuyler, Arnold, and Morgan. The conspiracy had 
gained great headway before its real nature was detected. It 
ended, hoAvever, in complete failure ; and, throughout its dis- 
closures, Washington, with characteristic dignity and moral 
courage, bore slanders and misrepresentations without complaint, 
because a public defense of his course would necessarily have 
given valuable information to the enemy. 

When the American treat}^ or alliance with France became 
known to the British government. Parliament passed an act 
repealing the duty on tea. It further repealed the Massachusetts 
Government Act and declared that it would not exercise its 
right to levy taxes on the American colonies. The people in 
England had called for Pitt to come to the aid of the government, 
and to make overtures for peace. Pitt, however, was stricken 
with a fatal illness, and Lord North's commissioners, who ar- 
rived in America in June, were sent back to say that the former 
colonies would accept nothing less than the acknowledgment of 
their complete independence, which the British government was 
not yet prepared to grant. 

Early in the summer of 1778, the British authorities decided 
to concentrate their forces at New York. In consequence of this 
change of plan, Sir Henry Clinton, now in command, marched 
out of Philadelphia on the 18th of June, with Washington fol- 
lowing immediately upon his heels. The American 
army overtook Clinton on the 27th at Monmouth i/onmouth, 
Court House, New Jersey, and Washington prepared ^^^^ ^^' ^^^^ 
for an immediate attack. General Charles Lee, who, after being 
captured by the British, had been exchanged, was again in com- 
mand of an American force. Washington ordered him to make 
an attack upon the enemy on the morning of the 28th, but the 
former English officer did not obey promptly, and, in addition, 
disarranged Washington's plans by giving conflicting orders. 
Fortunately, the alert Lafayette reported the state of affairs to 
Washington, who arrived on the scene in time to stop a retreat. 
After delivering a stinging rebuke to his disobedient subordi- 
nate, he restored the line of battle and advanced against the 
British. In spite of this unfortunate beginning, Washington 



172 THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, 1775-1783 

foiioht a drawn battle, and the British commander retired that 
night from tlie field to take up his march to New York. 

^Washington followed Clinton to New York, and, with the 
aid of a French fleet under Count d'Estaing, he hoped to capture 
the British forces there. When D 'Estaing arrived, however, he 
found that his largest vessels could not cross the bar of the 
harbor, and the project was given up, Washington remaining on 
the Hudson above New York to maintain communications with 
New England. 

In the summer of 1778, exiled Tories and Indian allies made 
numerous raids on the border settlements of New^ York and 
Pennsylvania, the most noted of these being in the Wyoming 
Indian Valley in Pennsylvania and in Cherry Valley, New 
Attacks York. General Sullivan, with 5000 men, was sent by 
Washington in the following year to aveng:e these atrocities. 
Sullivan badly defeated the enemy near Elmira, New York, and 
destroyed the villages and cornfields of the Indians over an 
extended stretch of country. 

The winter of 1778-1779, however, witnessed a most im- 
portant campaign in the west, which was to determine the future 
of a great section of the country. It has been seen that the hardy 
backwoodsmen of Virginia and North Carolina had already 
begun to occupy the fertile lands west of the Alleghanies. In 
1778, however, it occurred to George Rogers Clark, of Virginia, 
to cross the Ohio and wrest from Great Britain the great north- 
western terHtory hetiveen that river and the Great Lakes. 
Clark laid his plan before Patrick Henry, governor of Virginia, 
and Thomas Jefferson. Both of these leaders heartily approved 
of it. Shortly thereafter Clark w^as duly commissioned by the 
State of Virginia to undertake the conquest. 

In the first stage of his campaign, Clark led a few^ score men 

from Wheeling down the Ohio and across southern Illinois to 

the Mississippi River. Not far from the present site of St. 

^, , Louis, on the Illinois side of the Mississippi, 

George Rogers Clark . i r- ? 

and the Winning was the important outpost of Kaskaskia. 

Clark, with his small band of Kentucky 

frontiersmen, surprised this settlement and took possession of 



GEORGE ROGERS CLARK IN THE NORTHWEST 173 




it on the night o£ July 4, 1778. Here he awaited reinforcements 
before proceeding farther into the Illinois territory. The ex- 
pected reinforcements, however, had been sent against hostile 
Indians at the future battlefield of Chick- 
amauga, so that Clark was, for the pres- 
ent, unable to proceed farther into the 
northwestern territory. 

In the winter of 1779 Clark heard that 
the British Governor Hamilton was gath- 
ering a formidable force of British and 
Indians at Vincennes to drive him out of 
the Illinois country early in the spring. 
Being a man of action, Clark determined 
to advance at once and to strike the first 
blow. He assembled, therefore, a force of 
170 men, some of whom were French vol- 
unteers from Kaskaskia, and began a won- 
derful march across a trackless country in 
the dead of winter. A great part of the 
route of nearly 200 miles lay across 
the '' drowned lands " of the Wabash, 
and the men were frequently obliged to wade up to their necks in 
water, holding their guns above the flood. Frequently they were 
without food, except such as they were able to secure along the 
route or capture from strajdng parties of Indians. 

Clark and his men arrived before Vincennes on the 23rd of 
February, 1779. They outnumbered Hamilton's force, but the 
latter 's war parties and raiders might return at any moment; so 
Clark attacked the fort the following day with such vigor that 
Hamilton agreed to surrender. The British commander and a 
number of the prisoners Avere sent to Jefferson, now governor 
in the place of Patrick Henry, and the Northivestern Territory 
was organized as the County of Illinois, in the State of Vir- 
ginia. George Rogers Clark at that time was but twenty-six 
years of age ; his successful campaign gave Virginia a strong 
claim to the northwest which she generously yielded in order to 
present the whole of this vast territory to the United States as 
a common possession under the Confederation (page 196). 



GEORGE ROGERS CLARK 

Born Albemarle Co., Va., 
November 19, 1752. Serv- 
ed in Indian wars; moved 
to Kentucky, 1775, and 
was prominent in organ- 
ization of territory; led 
expedition that wiested the 
northwest from British in 
1778-1779. Died Ken- 
tucky, 1818. 



174 T^E AMERICAN REVOLUTION, 1775-1783 



During the summer of the year 1779 there were two brilliant 
minor movements of American forces. The first of these was 
the capture of Stony Point on the Hudson by General Anthony 
Wayne. This was accomplished in a night attack, 
stony oin ^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^^ bayouct Only, and without firing a 
Pauius Hook ^^loi^ The entire British force surrendered, and mili- 
tary stores of importance were captured. In an equally daring 
manner. Major Henry Lee (''Light Horse Harry") captured 

the British fortifications at Pauius Hook, 
opposite New York, on the present site of 
Jersey City. The capture of Stony Point 
took place on July 15, 1779. Pauius Hook 
fell into the hands of the Americans on 
August 19. 

These two successful achievements on 
land were followed on September 23rd by 
the most noted naval victory of the war. 
Captain John Paul Jones, a Scotch-Amer- 
ican commander, had succeeded in fitting 
out some ships in the ports of France. His 
flagship was an old French merchant ves- 
sel refitted for war purposes and renamed 
the Bonhoinme Richard. Cruising to the 
west of Britain, he fell in with the convoy 
of a British merchant fleet and chose for 
his antagonist the Serapis, in command 
of Captain Richard Pearson. The battle 
that took place was one of the most des- 
perate engagements recorded in naval history. For a large part 
of the time the ships were lashed together and both w^ere burning. 
During the long hours of conflict, first one side had the advantage 
and then the other ; but at last some hand-grenades, thrown from 
the rigging of the Bonhomme Michard upon the decks of the 
John ^^f^V'^, turned the tide of the battle against the British, 
Paul who were forced to surrender. The Bonhomme Richard sank 

Jones 

shortly after the engagement, and Jones sailed away on the 
Serapis. Other daring operations by Jones, by Barry, Whipple, 




ANTHONY -WAYNE 

Born in Pennsylvania, 
1745; served ably in Revo- 
lutionary War, rising to rank 
of brigadier-general; like 
Greene, accepted a plan- 
tation offered by Georgia 
and moved to that State; 
elected to Congress, 1791; 
as major-general defeated 
Indians at Fallen Timbers 
in 1794; nicknamed "Mad 
Anthony" for daring in 
ba,ttle. Died 1796. 



JOHN PAUL JONES 



175 




and a number of American privateersmen began greatly to cripple 
British trade on the high seas/^ 

For several years after their disastrous repulse at Charleston, 
the British attempted no extended campaign in the south, where 
they had, however, secured a foothold at Savannah, Georgia. In 
the fall of 1779, a combined attack was made upon Savannah by 
a French fleet under D'Estaing and an American force under 
General Lincoln. To surprise the enemy, 
a night assault was planned, but the 
British were warned of it, and it was re- 
pulsed with disastrous results to the be- 
siegers. One thousand of the allied forces 
were killed, while the British loss was 
small. Count Pulaski, a distinguished 
Pole who had entered the American ser- 
vice, was among those killed. ^^ 

In December, Sir Henry Clinton sailed 
from New York to invest Charleston. Op- 
posing his force of 11,000 men was Gen- 
eral Lincoln, with a force of about 7000 
Americans, who became entrapped in the 
city by troops on the one side and ships on 
the other. The American forces held out 
for nearly two months, but on Maj^ 12, 
1780, after a destructive bombardment, they were compelled to 
capitulate. The city of Charleston was pillaged by both Hessians 
and British. Clinton and Cornwallis outlawed all invasion of 
people who would not taken an iron-bound oath ^°"^^ Carolina 
actively to support the British government. Property was de- 
stroyed or confiscated, and the people were cruelly treated. 

' Captain Pearson of the Serapis was afterwards knighted for his brave 
fight. It is said tliat when Jones heard of it, he remarked : " Pearson de- 
served it, and if I fall in with him again, I'll make a lord of him." 

^^^ D'Estaing, in command of the French naval forces, seems to have 
been peculiarly unfortunate in his undertakings in American waters. \Yash- 
ington had counted on his aid to " coop up " and capture Clinton in New 
York after the battle of Monmouth. D'Estaing failed to enter the harbor. 
Later, he w^as engaged in an unsuccessful attack upon the British at Newport. 



JOHN PAUL JONES 

Born Scotland, July 6 
1747; became sailor at 12 
settled in Virginia, 1773. 
became noted sea captain in 
American navy of Revolu- 
tion; later Rear-Admiral in 
Russian navy. Died Paris, 
1792. 



176 THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, 1775-1783 

The British forces were overwhelmingly large, and South 
Carolina was for a time left to work out her own salvation. 
This she began to do with wonderful spirit and determination 
through the active operations of small bands of patriots led by 
men who later became famous in the romance of partisan war- 
fare, ''men who worked one day and fought the next." Among 
those who thus distinguished themselves in numerous attacks 
upon the enemy were Francis Marion, Thomas Sumter, and 
Andrew Pickens, whose successful activities soon attracted vol- 
unteers from neighboring colonies. In Georgia the patriot party 
rallied under the standard of Elijah Clarke. 

Washington was desirous of sending General Nathanael 
Greene to take charge of the American forces in the south, but 
Congress insisted upon sending General Gates instead. Baron 
de Kalb and 2000 men were dispatched from Wash- 
Camden, iugtou's depleted forces to aid in the campaign. The 

"^' ' immediate result was a blundering failure on the part 

of Gates, who met Cornwallis at Camden, South Carolina, and 
was disastrously defeated. Gates not stopping his four days' 
flight until he had reached a safe point 180 miles away. Baron 
de Kalb was killed in the battle. ^^ 

After this disastrous campaign, Congress at last gave up 
Gates, and allowed Washington to put Greene in his place; but 
the mistaken choice of the Continental Congress had done great 
damage to the American cause. The war had now dragged along 
for a period of five years. The end seemed not in sight, and the 
outlook at no period was more gloomy than at this tima The 
patriot soldiers were unable to support themselves on currency 
that was worth little or nothing, desertions were increasingly 
frequent, and recruits were hard to obtain. In addition to this, 
the country was startled and horrified over the treacherous con- 
duct of one of its bravest leaders. 

Benedict Arnold, after notable services in Vermont, New 
York, and Canada, had been treated with injustice and neglect 

" For previous reference to Gates, see page 170, De Kalb was born 
in Bavaria, but served in the French armies and eanie to America with 
Lafayette. De Kalb was second in command to Gates. 



TREASON OF BENEDICT ARNOLD 



177 



West Point was saved, 



by Congress. Upon being reprimanded for some minor irregu- 
larities of conduct, he determined to sell himself to the enemy. 
Consequently, after securing the command at West Treason of 
Point on the Hudson, he engaged in correspondence Benedict Arnold 
with the British to deliver that stronghold to them. In Septem- 
ber, 1780, he had arranged the last details of his plans with 
Major Andre, an officer on Clinton's staff. Andre, however, was 
caught by Continental pickets on the east side of the Hudson on 
his way back from the American lines. The treasonable corre- 
spondence was found in his possession, 
but Arnold escaped to join the British 
and the unfortunate Major Andre 
was, in accordance with military regu- 
lations, executed as a spy. 

The period immediately following 
the defeat of Gates at Camden and the 
subseciuent disclosure of Arnold 's 
treachery at West Point seemed to 
many the gloomiest period of the war. 
It proved, however, to be " the darkness 
that precedes the dawn." The first 
light was to come from the frontier 
settlements of Virginia and the 
Carolinas. 

After their easily won victory at 
Camden, the British believed that they 
could readily subjugate the whole of 
the South. Consequently, Major 
Ferguson was sent to the western part of South Carolina, 
not only to arouse the Tory element in the mountains, 
but to inflict a blow upon the frontiersmen beyond the Alle- 
ghanieSj who were beginning to take a more active part in the 
patriot cause. Ferguson received orders to intimidate the people, 
if necessary, by laying waste the country and hanging the ' ' rebel ' ' 
leaders, but orders such as these served further to arouse the 
fighting spirit of the riflemen of the western frontier From 
every quarter they gathered together at the call of their leaders, 
Campbell, Sevier, Shelby, McDowell, Williams, and Cleveland. 
12 




GENERAL NATHANAEL GREENE 
Born Rhode Island, 1742; 
major-general in Continental 
Army; served with distinction 
in Northern, Middle, and South- 
ern States; after the Revolu- 
tion, he moved to Georgia, 
where he died in 1786, one year 
before the framing of the United 
States Constitution. 



178 THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, 1775-1783 



On October 7, 1780, they found Ferguson, who had heard of 
their coming and had fortified himself on a spur of a rocky ridge 
called King's Mountain. Here the American volunteers attacked 
him fiercely, and although repeatedly repulsed by bayonet 
charges, they retreated down the hill, only to re- 
turn to the assault as often as they were driven 
back. Their determination was deadly and resist- 
less, and Ferguson's force of 1100 men was com- 
pletely wiped out. This was one of the most 
brilliant successes of the Revolution. The British and Tories 



The Call of 
the Frontier; 
King's Mountain 
and the 
Beginning of 
the end 




BATTLE OF KTNG S MOUNTAIN 



slightly outnumbered the Americans, the latter losing but 28 men, 
including Colonel Williams. Ferguson and several hundred of 
the enemy were killed or wounded, while the rest were captured. 
The battle of King's Mountain marked the beginning of the 
end of the revolutionary conflict. For, coupled with 
and the this. Came the cheering news that John Laurens, sent 

as a special commissioner to France, had obtained an- 
other loan from the French king. This was timely aid, without 



GUILFORD COURT HOUSE, MARCH 15, 1781 179 

which the United States could scarcely have brought the war to 
its successful conclusion some months later. 

The plans of Cornw^allis had been frustrated by the defeat 
of Ferguson. Instead of Gates, there opposed him such able 
commanders as Nathanael Greene and Daniel Morgan, besides 
Colonel William Washington, ''Light Horse Harry" Lee and 
the partisan leaders. 

General Morgan opened the campaign on the 17th of Janu- 
ary, 1781, by defeating a larger force of British under Tarleton 
at Cowpens, South Carolina. Although the Americans fought 
well, they owed their victory in a large measure to the unusual 
strategy of their comjnander, who feigned flight wdth his forward 
line, and caught the charging British by a pre- 
arranged flank attack. From the standpoint of Ta°/ieton 
military tactics, it was the most remarkable en- ^* Cowpens 
gagement of the Revolution and showed that Morgan, once a 
colonial teamster in Braddock's expedition, possessed a natural 
genius for Avar. The British loss was 270 killed and wounded 
and 600 prisoners out of a total force of 1150 men. The Amer- 
icans lost but 20 of the 940 men engaged. Morgan chased Tarle- 
ton and the remainder of his force for many miles; and, then, 
after successfully^ evading the greatly superior forces of Corn- 
wallis, he united his command with that of General Greene, who 
retired into Virginia. 

On March 15th Greene returned to North Carolina and gave 
battle to Cornwallis at Guilford Court House. Although the 
Americans were defeated, they withdrew from the field in good 
order. The British loss w^as proportionately great-er, 
and Cornwallis 's army was so badly crippled that court° House, 
he felt obliged to withdraw to Wilmington to be ^^''^ ^^' ^^^^ 
within reach of the British fleet. There seemed to be but one 
course left open to him now, and this was to advance northward 
into Virginia. 

In the meantime, partisan bands were waging constant war-' 
fare and were capturing or driving in the outlying ^ 

■r> ... T . r^ ,, ^ ® .-..-/ Cornwams 

British garrisons. Greene, therefore, permitted Corn- invades 
wallis to advance into Virginia without opposition, and ^^''^'"^^ 
determined to lead his own army to the relief of the Carolinas. 



180 THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, 1775-1783 

Consequently, at Hobkirk 's Hill, he attacked a lar^e force of the 
enemy under Colonel Rawdon, but was defeated. Rawdon, 
however, could no longer hold his headquarters at Camden, for 
''Lig'ht Horse Harry" Lee, by capturing; a fort on the road to 
Charleston, had cut off his supplies. During the summer, also, 
Marion and Sumter and other leaders had compelled the British 
to abandon the uplands of the whole of South Carolina and 
Georgia. On September 8th, Greene encountered the British 
under Colonel Stuart at Eutaw Springs in South Carolina. At 
first the Americans were successful and drove the British from 
the field, but while the former were plundering the camp of the 
enemy, they were suddenly surprised and forced to retire. 

Virginia now furnished the scene for the closing act of the 
Revolution. Early in 1781, Benedict Arnold, appointed an 
officer in the British army, had led an invading force into that 
State, the defense of which was weakened by the absence of her 
soldiers fighting in the North under Washington, in the West 
under Clark, and in the South under Lincoln, Greene, and other 
commanders. Richmond was burned and much of the region 
along the James was plundered by the British. But Generals 
Lafayette, Wayne, and Steuben arrived upon the scene to aid 
in repelling the invaders. Arnold was sent back to New York 
by Cornwallis, but the latter countenanced or encouraged a sim- 
ilar campaign of plunder. Finally, as the American troops 
grew in numbers, the British commander decided to concentrate 
his army at Yorktown, on the York River, so as to bring his forces 
into communication by sea with those of Sir Henry Clinton at 
New York. 

The position taken by CoruAA^allis might have been safe had 
the British navy maintained control of the Atlantic coast, but it 
so happened that at this time a French fleet, much stronger than 
the British naval force in American waters, arrived in Chesa- 
peake Bay. The Americans had prepared for their coming, 
through arrangements made by Washington with the French 
Admiral, Count de Grasse, and Count Rochambeau, with a view 
to a combined attack on New York. Washington, however, with 
his usual milit-ar}" insight, now saw a better opportunity for 
striking at the foe through the defeat or capture of Cornwallis, 



SURRENDER OF CORNWALLIS AT YORKTOWN 181 




To carry out this design, he deceived Sir Henry Clinton by 
a movement which seemed to threaten New York ; but when 
his plans were complete, he suddenly transferred 2000 of 
his men, together wdth 4000 
French troops, from the Hud- 
son to join Lafayette above 
Yorktown. The movement was 
executed with great secrecy, 
celerity, and success, and the 
allied forces were in position 
to attack before Clinton could 
interfere. 

Siege operations were be- 
gun in the latter part of Sep- 
tember and the lines of the 
allies were drawn closer and 
closer around Yorktown and 
Cornwallis. Outer British re- 
doubts were captured by as- 
sault, British guns within the 
fortification were silenced, and Yorktown was enfiladed with shot 
and shell. After an attempt to escape by night across the York 
River, Cornwallis was compelled to surrender Sep- 
tember 19, 1781. 

Wasington offered the same terms to the British 
that they had granted General Benjamin Lincoln at 
the surrender of Charleston in May, 1780. Lincoln was selected by 
Washington to receive the sword of Cornwallis. The land forces 
became the prisoners of the United States, while the naval forces 
were surrendered to the King of France. 

Even the obstinac}^ of King George could not postpone the 
defeat of the ministrv^ that had prosecuted the war. Conse- 
quently, Lord Rockingham became minister, with a cabinet made 
up largely of men who had opposed the policy of 
colonial coercion. Peace negotiations w^ere conducted 
at Paris, in which the United States were represented 
by Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Henry Laurens, 
and John Jay. A preliminary treaty was arranged on Novem 



MAP SHOWING CA MPAIGN AGAINST CORN- 
WALLIS AT YORKTOWN 



Surrender of 
Cornwallis at 
Yorktown, 
Oct. 19, 1781 



The Fall 
of the 

British War 
Ministry 



182 THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, 1775-1783 

ber 30, 1782, which became final in the following year. By the 
terms of this treaty, Great Britain acknowledged the indepen- 
dence of the thirteen former colonies, the boundaries of which 
were fixed by the Mississippi River on the west, by Florida on 
the south, and by the St. Lawrence and the Great Lakes on 
the north. 

There were other provisions of the treaty that were not car- 
ried out or definitely settled for some time, such as the protection 
of loj^alists and the restoration of their property. The feeling 
against loyalists was intense, partly on account of the 
p|™g^ jjg*^j. malicious activities of some of them during the war. 
Fate of the This hatred extended to all those who had not activelv 

Tones 

sympathized with the patriot party. Thousands were 
driven into exile and their property confiscated, sometimes under 
very harsh circumstances. It was a mistake to force these people 
out of the Confederation. The great majority of them would 
have accepted the result of the struggle in good faith, and would 
have made good citizens of the new republic. The American 
Congress promised to recommend to the States that loyalists be 
protected and their property restored, hut Congress could only 
recommend — it coidd not make the States obey. Neither could 
Congress compel the States to pay to British creditors debts con- 
tracted prior to the beginning of the war. The British, on the 
other hand, for several years kept possession of some of the forts 
in the Northwest. 

During the progress of negotiations, both British and Amer- 
ican forces were kept under arms, although there was a cessation 
of hostilities. On April 19th, eight years after Lexington and 
Concord, Washington communicated to the army the proclama- 
tion of Congress that peace had been formally declared, and most 
of the soldiers returned to their homes. New York was finally 
given up by the British on the 25th of November, 1783, and, on 
the 4th of December following, Washington took leave of his 
officers and departed for his home at Mount Viernon. On the 23rd 
of the same month he resigned his commission at Annapolis, 
Maryland, where Congress was then in session, and expressed his 
desire to retire to private life. 



JOHN LAURENS AND THE REVOLUTION 183 

NOTES AND SIDELIGHTS 

Washington's Defense of New York. — General Prescott at . 
Bunker Hill led his army into a trap. Had the British made use 
of their navy to shut off his retreat on the Charlestown peninsula, 
he and all his men must have been captured. Similarly, George 
Washington made a serious blunder in attempting with inade- 
quate fortifications and with no naval force, to defend New York. 
His army might have been annihilated. On the other hand, the 
British commanders had been made cautious by the repulses they 
had received at Bunker Hill and at Fort Moultrie. Washington 
also profited by his mistakes, and not only learned not to repeat 
them, but constantly to improve in both defensive and of- 
fensive strategy. 

Death of Nathan Hale. — ^An incident of the campaign imme- 
diately subsequent to the Battle of Long Island was the capture 
by the British of Nathan Hale, who, in disguise, had been engaged 
in gaining information in the British camp. He was hanged as a 
spy ; but just before his execution, he exclaimed : " I only regret 
that I have but one life to lose for my country. ' ' Hale was born 
in Connecticut and was graduated at Yale. 

John Laurens and the Darkest Period of the Revolution. — 
Washington wrote to Laurens after his departure for France and 
prior to the battle of King 's Mountain : ' ' I give it decisively as my 
opinion that without a foreign loan our present force cannot be 
kept together ; ... we are at the end of our tether, and that 
now or never our deliverance must come.'' Laurens was a per- 
sonal friend of George Washington and closely associated with 
him in his military operations from Brandywine to Yorktown. 
Of Laurens, Washington said that ''his only fault was intre- 
pidity bordering upon rashness." He was twenty-eight years 
old when sent on this important diplomatic service to France, 
and secured additional French aid when all other American 
commissioners had failed. On his return to America he was seized 
with a fever, but rose from a sick bed to repel a British attack 
near his home in South Carolina. He received a mortal wound 
and died August 27, 1782. Congress had given him a vote of 
thanks for his successful negotiations with France, 



184 THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, 1775-1783 

John Joiiett's Ride. — When Cornwallis invaded Virginia in 
1781, Governor Thomas Jefferson and the Virginia legislature 
barely escaped capture by 250 of Colonel Tarleton's troopers. 
The latter made an unexpected dash on Charlottesville, where 
the legislature was sitting, and upon ' ' Monticello, " Jefferson's 
home. John Jouett, a citizen of Charlottesville, then in Louisa 
County, saw the troopers, suspected their errand, and riding 
desperately over forty milcvS, between midnight and morning, suc- 
ceeded in warning Jefferson and the legislature in time for Jeffer- 
son and nearly all the legislators to escape. This ride occurred at 
a critical period of the Revolution and saved from capture, im- 
prisonment, and possible death, the author of the Declaration of 
Independence. Patrick Henry was also one of those warned by 
Jouett, whose timely ride should be compared and remembered 
with those of Paul Revere and William Dawes. 

Ride of Tench Tilghman. — After the surrender of Corn- 
wallis, Colonel Tench Tilghman of Maryland carried the news 
from Yorktown to the Congress at Philadelphia in four days. 
The news spread behind him as he rode, scarcely stopping to cry : 
' ^ Cornwallis is captured ! a fresh horse for Congress ! " At mid- 
night on the 23rd of October, the watchmen of Philadelphia cried : 
' ' Twelve o 'clock ; all is well ; Cornwallis is taken ! 



J J 



CHAPTER VIII 

From Confederation to Federal Union 

From 1776 to the close of the Revolutionary War, 
there were not a few in the ^'ministerial party" or British 
government who sincerely thought that they were fighting 
to preserve their American kindred from anarchy — to 
save them from themselves. It has been noted also that 
Otis (page 150) and other American leaders, having seen 
the apparent inability of the colonies to act together in 
the French and Indian wars, believed that they could 
never act together as one independent people. 

As time went on after the Revolution, the government 
set up by the Confederated States seemed to grow 
helpless and hopeless. It seemed that the confi- "Critical 
dent expectation of the Old World statesmen that 
the new Republic must fall to pieces would certainly 
be realized. 

As the central government had no real powers vested 
in it, it could only recommend action by the thirteen 
States. It could not pay its debts, and it had ceased to be 
respected either at home or abroad. Its notes, or prom- 
ises to pay, had become almost worthless and were de- 
risively called ''shin plasters." 

In the absence of any supreme authority, many of the States 
were beginning* to wage war against each other — not with men 
and guns, but wdth political and economic legislation aimed at 
their neighbors. New York and New Jersey, for example, began 
to wage commercial war against each other as if they were differ- 
ent nations. Each State governed itself as it saw fit, and many 
of them controlled territory larger than that of the mother 

185 



186 FROM CONFEDERATION TO FEDERAL UNION 

country. So accustomed had each State become to the manage- 
ment of its own affairs that each o:^ them feared to create a strong 
central government, which not only must take from the States 
some of their self-government, but which also might unite a 
majority of the States in encroaching upon the rights of the 
others. Actual taxation hy such a government might become as 
obnoxious as that which had been proposed by the British 
Parliament. 

Nevertheless, in spite of the survival of so much of 
the old colonial individualism and devotion to absolute 
local self-government, influences were at work tending 
towards the creation of a Federal or central government 
endowed by the several States with real power. 

The binding force of the Confederation had been the 
fear of oppression and the presence of armies of invasion. 
This was self-interest which had concerned all alike. Just 
.as the war came to a close, a. new form of common self- 
interest had arisen in the common ownersliip of western 
lands. It has been seen (page 174) that, in order to secure 
The Ordinance ^^^^ sigiiiug of tlic articlcs of the Confedera- 
°^ ^^^^ tion of the first Union, Virginia, with a spirit 

of generosity perhaps unequaled in historical annals, gave 
up her vast claims to empire in the northwest, which she 
had, unaided, wrested from Canada and the British 
through the expedition of George Rogers Clark.^ 

^Less than one-third of the northwest territory claimed by Virginia 
was disputed by other States under th-eir colonial charters. Patrick Henry 
vehemently protested against the cession of this vast domain. He be- 
lieved that the first Union should be secured without such a sacrifice on 
the part of his State. From first to last, however, Maryland stoutly in- 
sisted that she would not sign the articles of Confederation until all the 
claims to the northwest were given up. With no western lands herself, she 
was not willing to be so overshadowed by her powerful neighbor. See 
map, page 187. 



THE ORDINANCE OF 1787 



187 




B4AP SHOWING STATE CLAIMS TO WESTERN TERBITOBT 



188 FROM CONFEDERATION TO FEDERAL UNION 

The greatest single act of the Congress of the Con- 
federation, known as the Ordinance of 1787, is directly 
connected with the future development of the northwest 
territory. As early as 1784, Thomas Jefferson, who 
had done so much in organizing the Clark expedition, 
drew up a law for the government of all the western terri- 
tory north and south of the Ohio and its ultimate division 
into States. Among other things, Jefferson provided 
that after 1800 slavery should not be permitted in all 
that region. 

Jefferson's proposals were not carried out by Con- 
gress, however ; and, in 1789, Nathan Dane introduced an 
ordinance, for the most part based on that proposed by 
Jefferson, but limited to the lands north of the Ohio. This 
Ordinance was adopted, and provision was made for 
dividing the territory into States — not less than three nor 
more than five. Each new State was to be given equality 
with the older States;- religious liberty was guaranteed; 
slavery was forbidden ; and unusual provision was made 
for public education. In 1788, Marietta was founded as 
the first settlement under the Ordinance (see, also, 
page 196). 

The acquisition of this northwestern territory had, 
therefore, created a new bond of union. All the States, 
both large and small, possessed a common dominion, so 
that the desire grew for a better or stronger central gov- 
ernment. Furthermore, the need of such 

Need for a j i i Ji t/y* i 

Stronger Central a govcmment was sliowu by the dimcul- 

Government ...,,. •jip* 

ties m deaimg with loreign powers, ranging 
in rank from Great Britain, France, and Spain to the 
Barbary pirates on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. 

* See page 197. 



FIRST EFFORT TO REVISE ARTICLES 189 

At home, the varying values of State and Continental 
currency caused riots, the most noted of which took place 
in Massachusetts, and is known in history as Shays 's Re- 
bellion, from the name of its leader, Captain Daniel 
Shays, a soldier of the Revolution.-' 

In the spring' of 1785 a dispute concerning* the navigation of 
the Potomac River led to the meeting of commissioners from 
Maryland and Virginia. This meeting, held at Mount Vernon at 
the invitation of Washington, led to a second conference to 
which delegates from all the States were asked to gather at An- 
napolis in 1786. 

As only five States sent delegates to this Annapolis 
convention, nothing" was accomplished, but a report pre- 
pared by Alexander Hamilton of New York was adopted, 
proposing that a Convention of delegates ^..^^^ ^ 
from all the States should meet at Philadel- $^t?dls*of 
phia in May of the following year to take into confederatiom 
consideration ''the state of the Union." Congress acted 
upon this recommendation, and issued a call for a conven- 
tion to meet at the time and place proposed, for the ''pur- 
pose of revising the articles of Confederation" and to 
drav/ up a Federal Constitution "adequate to the 
exigencies of government and the preservation of the 
Union." Although New Hampshire was late in sending 
delegates, and New York withdrew two of hers, while 
Rhode Island sent no delegates at all, the representatives 
of ten independent States met together in Philadelphia 
in May, 1787, in what is knowm in history as the Consti- 

^ It is said that George III regarded this outbreak in iVmerica with 
considerable satisfaction, and confirmed his belief that his former subjects 
would soon be glad to come back from a condition of public disorder to the 
protection and stability afforded by the British government. 



190 FROM CONFEDERATION TO FEDERAL UNION 



tutional Convention. Among the delegates, Virginia sent 
George Washington, who presided over the Convention, 

and James Madison, who became 
known as the ^'Father of the Con- 
stitution/' Massachusetts sent El- 
bridge Gerry and Rufus King; New 
York sent Alexander Hamilton. The 
experienced Franklin, recently re- 
turned from France, represented 
Pennsylvania. From South Carolina 
came John Rutledge and Charles and 
C. C. Pinckney. These and other dis- 
tinguished delegates sat in conven- 
tion for over three months, and the 
result of their labors was a new plan 
of government which one of the most 
famous of European statesmen after- 
wards declared to be ^'the most won- 
derful work ever struck off at a 
given time by the brain and purpose 
of man. ' ' * 




ROBERT MORRIS 

Born Liverpool, Eng- 
land, Jan. 31, 1734. Es- 
tablished partnership with 
Thomas Willing, merchant 
of Philadelphia, 1754; ac- 
cumulated a fortune ; was a 
member of Continental 
Congress 1776-78; his bus- 
iness ability was of such 
high order that he has 
been called "the financier 
of the Revolution." In 
1781, he was elected super- 
intendent of finance, and 
in same year, with approval 
of Congress, established the 
Bank of North America. 
Died 1806. 



Two plans were submitted for consideration to the Conven- 
tion, one of which was know^n as the Virginia plan, and the other 
was brought forward by New Jersey. The New^ Jersey plan 
proposed a reimion of the articles of Confederation, with the 
addition of creating two or more Presidents and a Supreme Court. 
The Virginia plan called for an entirely new form of govern- 

* Quotation from William E. Gladstone. 

Among others active and influential in this convention these may be 
mentioned: George Mason, of Virginia; Oliver Ellsworth and Roger Sher- 
man, of Connecticut; James Wilson, of Pennsylvania; William Patterson, 
of Nevv^ Jersey; John Dickinson, of Delaware; Luther Martin, of Maryland; 
Gouverneur, and Robert Morris, of Pennsylvania. 



LARGE AND SMALL STATES CONFLICT 191 



ment. It provided for a two-House Legislature, a single execu- 
tive, and a Judiciary, and it was finally adopted with, some 
minor modifications.^ 

The Convention, therefore, began to turn its attention 
to providing for a new government rather than to the 
effort to mend the old one. The new plan 
was skillfullv brought up by Madison, and Large *^and^sman 

* ox./ / States 

ably forwarded by Franklin and Hamilton. 
The first serious obstacle toward forming a general rep- 
resentative government was the conflict of interests 
between the large and the small 
States. The latter were jealous of 
their more powerful neighbors and 
were afraid of conceding powers 
which might be used to their dis- 
advantage. The small States argued 
that representation in Congress 
should be equal for each State, as 
had been the case under the Confed- 
eration. On the other hand, the large 
States maintained that such an 
arrangement would be unfair — that 
each State should be represented ac- 
cording to its population, and that it 
would not be right for States as small 
as Delaware or Rhode Island to have 
the voting power of States as large or 
as populous as Virginia and Massachusetts. Finally, a 




ALEXANDER HAMILTON 

Born West Indies, Jan. 
11, 1757; educated at 
King's College, N. Y.; be- 
came, at 17, a colonial 
leader; served _ in Conti- 
nental army with marted 
success, promoted to staff 
of Washington; leader in 
Constitutional Conven- 
tion; first Secretary^ of 
Treasury under Washing- 
ton ; was mortally wounded 
bv Aaron Burr in duel, July 
11, 1804. 



^One of the modifications was in reference to the use of the word 
national. This word was eliminated and federal substituted for it. The 
former t«rm, as descriptive of the affairs of the central government, did n<H 



come into use until after the War of Secession. 



!/.. 



192 FROM CONFEDERATION TO FEDERAL UNION 

compromise was effected by which it was decided that the 
federal legislature should consist of two branches, one of 
which was to be a House of Representatives, in which the 
States were to be represented according to population, 
and the other a Senate, in which the States, regardless of 
size or population, were to have equal representation. 

Three other great questions involving conflicting in- 
terests were brought up in the Convention. These were : 
other (-^) differences between agricultural and commer- 

probiems ^j^| Statcs as to tlic regulation of connnerce; 
(2) the enumeration of slaves as part of the population 
on which representation was to be based, and (3) the 
continuance of the slave trade. 

In the first place, the agricultural States of the SoutJi 
were opposed to taxes or tariffs on manufactured imports, 
except such imposts as would be required to provide reve- 
nue for the expenses of the national government. They 
were desirous, therefore, of making a two-thirds vote in 
Congress necessary in order to pass tariff laws. The 
northern States, on the other hand, insisted that a simple 
majority vote in Congress should regulate trade, and that 
tariff imposts should be levied not only for providing 
revenue for the government, but for the protection and 
aid of American industries. 

On the other hand, the representatives of the far 
southern States argued that additional slave labor was 
necessary for the development of their agricultural re- 
sources, to which negroes were especially adapted, as they 
were immune to the diseases at that time so frequently 
contracted by the white race in the hot lowlands. These 
States desired the continued importation of negroes from 
Africa. The New England States also desired the con- 



COMPROMISE ON TARIFF AND SLAVERY 193 

tinuation of this traffic for the reason that their merchants 
were making" large profits from it, although several of 
these States had even then practically abolished slavery 
within their own borders.^ 

On the other hand, the middle States, especially Vir- 
ginia and Pennsylvania, were opposed to the importation 
of any more slaves into America. A combination of the 
interests of the North and the far South brought about 
a double compromise by which it was agreed 
that a majority only' in Congress should tI^T^T °^ 
regmlate trade and tariff duties, while the ^^^^"^^ 
African slave trade was permitted to continue until 1808. 
Virginia had opposed both the tariff majority and con- 
tinuance of the slave trade, but she was outvoted and 
yielded after a spirited tight, and it was for these and 
other reasons that Patrick Henry and many of her most 
patriotic sons afterwards opposed the adoption of 
the Constitution. 

Another dispute concerning' representation and slavery be- 
came largely a sectional one, since the great bulk of slaves were in 
the States south of Pennsylvania. A number of northern dele- 
gates were desirous, in reckoning population, of excluding slaves, 
cliiefl}^ on the ground that the slaves themselves had no vote or 
part in representation. WJien, however, it had been first pro- 
posed to tax the States diY*ectly in proportion to population, 
Jolm Adams had made a strong argument for a full count of 
the slaves on the gTOund that they were persons as well as 
property and, as such, producers of wealth just as the free 
laborers of Massachusetts. It was finally decided, therefore, that 
slaves were to be counted on a three-fifths basis both in reckoning 

^ Georgia had been first to prohibit the importation of slaves, and the 
colony of South Carolina had once bitterly protested against the slave trade. 
So did North Carolina in 1774. 

13 



194 FROM CONFEDERATION TO FEDERAL UNION 

the representation of the several States and in providing a basis 
for direct taxes. Five slaves were to count as three freemen. 

After an entire summer of discussion and debate, the 
Convention assembled for the last time on September 17, 
constitution Day. ^ ^^7, and wheu the finally revised draft of 
September 17 ^^le Coustitution was presented, it was 

adopted by a majority of the delegates present. Wash- 




UAXIEL. BUONK ri FUKT 



Daniel Boone, the famous Kentucky pioneer, first visited the "Dark and Bloody 
Ground" in May, 1769. From the first, Boone and his companions were attacked 
by the Indians. In 1773, Boone made his "blazed trail" to the banks of the Ken- 
tucky River. In 1775, the first year of the American Revolution, he built a fort at 
Boonesboro. 

ington forwarded the Constitution to the Congress of the 
Confederation, and Congress, in turn, submitted it to the 
States for ratification. 

Before adoption as the ''law of the land," it was necessary 
that the Constitution should be ratified by at least nine States. 
Delaware was the first State to ratify the instrument (December 7, 
1787), but in many of the States a great struggle arose between 
those who favored the Constitution and those who opposed it. 
The former were called Federalists and the latter Anti-Federal- 
ists. The Federalists argued that a strong central government 



EXECUTIVE POWER 195 

was absolutely necessary, and they argued further that if the 
proposed plan had defects, these defects could be remedied by 
amendments. The Anti-Federalists fell back u.pon the sentiment 
of local self-government that had previously made the colonies 
jealous of any outside control over their respective and separate 
governments. Many able leaders and patriots of the Revolution 
felt that the central government might use the power delegated to 
it to oppress the citizens of a State or of a section. 

It was not until June 21st of the following year (1788) that 
as many as nine States agreed to the articles of the Constitution. 
Virginia gave them her assent with the express proviso, ' ' That the 
poAvers granted under the Constitution, being derived from the 
people of the United States, may be resumed bv ^. , „ .^ 

^, ^ , - 1 n 1 T Final Ratification 

them, whensoever the same shall be perverted to by the states, 
their injury or oppression.*' New York and 
Rhode Island incorporated a like provision in their form of rati- 
fication of the Federal Constitution. There was no protest made 
to ratification under these conditions, and there seems little doubt 
that the representatives of other States, while not directly declar- 
ing for the same principle of ultimate independence of action, 
felt that it was so generally understood and conceded by public 
opinion that there would be no contest to hold them in the Union 
should they wish to withdraw from it. North Carolina, a State 
that late in the year had sent delegates to the Convention, and 
Rhode Island, a State that had sent no delegates at all, did not 
accede to the Constitution and become members of the Union until 
1789 and 1790, respectively. 

The government as formed under the Constitution 
was to consist of three branches : legislative, executive, 
and judicial. The legislative branch, called Congress, 
was to consist of two houses, the Senate and 
the House of Representatives. In the Senate 
each State was to have equal representation through two 
Senators, to be chosen by the legislatures of the States 
for terms of six years each. In the House, representation 



196 FROM CONFEDERATION TO FEDERAL UNION 

was to be based upon population, and representatives 
were to be elected by the people every two years. Con- 
gress was empowered to levy taxes and import duties, to 
issue patents and copyrights, to regrilate commerce with 
foreign nations, to declare war, to provide for an army 
and navy, to establish post offices, to coin money, etc. 

The executive power was placed in the hands of a 
President, whose principal duty it was to see that the laws 
of the United States were executed. He was empowered 
to veto bills, or make them of no effect, except 
when his veto should be overruled by a two-thirds 
majority of both houses of Congress. He w^as to be 
chosen by electoral colleges, composed of electors from 
each State ; he was to serve for four years, with the privi- 
lege of reelection. It was provided, also, that a Vice- 
President was to be elected for a corresponding term, and 
his duty was to preside over the Senate. 

The Constitution provided that the judicial branch 
should consist of a supreme court with the power to inter- 
pret the laws enacted by Congress. The judges 
judicia ^^ ^^^^ court were to be appointed by the President 
and were to hold office during good behavior. There were 
also to be lower courts which from time to time Congress 
was empowered to establish.'^ 

NOTES AND SIDELIGHTS 

The Northwest Territory.— Because of her double claims to 
the Northwestern Territory, the action of Virginia in giving up 
her rights for the common good (page 186) is worthy of more 
extended comment. As Governor of Virginia, Patrick Henry had 

' Since the interpretative functions of the Supreme Court were a later 
development under the Federal Union, the above statement, although every- 
where accepted as true to-day, was not so generally accepted at first. 



VIEWS IN REGARD TO THE NEW UNION 197 

authorized George Rogers Clark to conquer the Illinois country 
with the troops and funds supplied solely by his native State; 
"For/' he wrote, ''the honor and interest of the State are 
deeply concerned in this." Massachusetts formally ^delded her 
claims in 1784, but Connecticut insisted on a compromise in 
1786 by which she secured a tract in northern Ohio that became 
known as the Western Reserve. South Carolina was the next to 
yield her charter claims to western lands in 1787 ; North Caro- 
lina followed in 1790, and Georgia, in 1802. These cessions were 
made by the States on condition that the land should be sold to 
pay the debts of the general government, and that as the increase 
of population justified it, the territory was to be divided into new 
States to be admitted into the Union on an equal footing with 
the rest. Upon these cessions, Maryland agreed to sign the 
articles' of confederation and the first formal union (the Con- 
federation) was ratified in 1781. Other State claims by charter 
are given in the map on page 187. New York and Pennsylvania 
broke the continuity of the Massachusetts and Connecticut char- 
ter claims ; but the States south of Maryland had unbroken west- 
ern claims to the Mississippi, 

Virginia was from the first the champion of the West. In 
the framing of the Constitution, Gouverneur Morris had tried to 
prevent any absolute guarantee of the rights of any new Western 
States which should be created. ' ' The new States, ' ' he declared, 
"will know less of the public interest and will not be able to 
furnish men equally enlightened." To this he added that ''the 
back members are always averse to the best measure" (See refer- 
ence to Winthrop's views of government, page 48. Other dele- 
gates maintained that the total representation in Congress from 
all new States created should never exceed the representation 
from the original thirteen. On the other hand, George Mason, 
with the support of Virginia delegates, demanded that all new 
States should "be treated as equals," and this view finally 
prevailed. 

Views in Regard to the Nature of the New Union. — Al- 
though two of the strongest supporters of the new form of 
government, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, lived in 
New York and Virginia respectively, these States Avere the last 



198 FROM CONFEDERATION TO FEDERAL UNION 

to join the Union before the government went into effect. When 
President Washington traveled through the New England States 
in 1789, Rhode Island was' regarded as foreign territory — a little 
separate nation. Tlie people of that State were still debating the 
advisability of joining the Union. 

Vermont had tried to join the Confederation during the Revo- 
lution, but was refused admission through the influence of New 
York, the latter State claiming her territor^^ Vermont had been, 
to all intents and purposes, an independent State from 1777. 
Tennessee had, for a period, an independent existence as the 
State of Franklin or Frankland. This independence arose from 
difficulties with the parent State of North Carolina from 1784 
to 1788. 

This alleged right of a State to nullify Federal law was exer- 
cised b}^ almost every State in the Union up to the time of national 
consolidation effected in 1861-65 (see page 353). This form of 
"State rights" was an inheritance from the American revolu- 
tion and from the local self-government which preceded the Revo- 
lution. To-day, the decision of the United State Supreme Court 
is accepted as final with regard to all such questions. 

Coins and Coinage System. — Thomas Jefferson and Robert 
Morris Avere the men who planned our present coinage system. 
Had it not been for their work, we might still be struggling with 
the cumbersome British table with its pounds, shillings, pence, 
etc. Thomas Jefferson desired also to introduce the decimal 
system in weights and measures. In this respect, we still hold 
on to the older customs brought over from England. Americans 
who travel abroad complain of the trouble they have in com- 
puting coins or "change," especially when they encounter Brit- 
ish pounds, shillings, and pence. But one can scarcely picture 
the difficulties of buying and selling in colonial days when hardly 
two pieces of money of the same name and denomination had 
the same value. Some of the coins which circulated in the 
Colonies and under the Confederation of States (nearly all more 
or less clipped and therefore of varying value) were Spanish 
dollars, called "pieces of eight," doubloons, pistols, guineas, 
gold Johanneses, etc. 



CHAPTER IX 

The Federalist Period Under the Constitution 

'^We, the people of the United States, in order to form 
a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic 
tranquillity, provide for the common defense, promote the 
general tvelfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to our- 
selves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this 
Constitution for the United States of America/^ 

In these fifty-two words, the framers of our Constitution set 
'forth the purpose of their labors. That which follows ^ is a 
declaration of government that soon became the hope and in- 
spiration of peoples the world over ; and it may be said that in 
drawing up this great instrument, the Constitutional Convention, 
for the first time in history, successfully set up on a large scale 
the golden mean between the irresponsible monarch and the irre- 
sponsible mob. 

In the States which had accepted the new Constitution, the 
first elections were held a few months after the ratification of 
the instrument. An entire Congress was elected, for which, 
contrary to the practice under the Confederation (page 185) very 
able men were chosen. When the votes of the State electors were 
counted, it was found that George Washington was their unani- 
mous choice. John Adams received the largest number of votes 
for second place and was declared Vice-President. - 

Washing-ton was inau^rated on the 30th of April, 
1789. Without delay he and the first Congress elected 

^ Appendix. 

^ It should be remembered that there were no party organizations, and 
the electors chosen by the States to the Electoral College were free to vote 
for whom they thought best. (Article II, § 1, p; see also Amendment XII.) 

199 




200 FEDERALIST PERIOD UNDER CONSTITUTION 

under the Constitution set to work to start the machinery 
First ^^ ^^^^ ^^^ g-ovemment. James Madison was f ore- 
cabinet j^iQ^i in the work of interpretation and construc- 
tion, while executive functions under the President were 
at first divided into three departments, which represented 

the beginning of the presidential 
cabinet. Thomas Jefferson, of 
Virginia, was appointed Secre- 
tary of State; Alexander Ham- 
ilton, of New York, Secretary of 
the Treasury, and Henry Knox, 
of Massachusetts, S e c r e t a r y 
of War. 

The first question of moment 
which came up before Congress 

MARTHA WASHINGTON WRS OUO Wllicll IS WOVCU lutO tllC 

ginia^mifmtrSd^^^^^ cutirc history of this country, 

SrAVdeTtfo«S"^^ and which has proved to be a 

ried, in 1759, George Washington. , , i? n i x 

The wealth that became hers after COUStant SOUrCC 01 debate, Un- 

the death of her first husband did ... -^^ -,, 

not influence either her or George r C S t, Or imtatlOn. iirOadlV 

Washington to take sides against 

the patriot cause They preferred SDeakinSf, It WaS at first a COUfllct 

to risk all on behalf of their country- -■■ "=•' 

"s^Geo'rgrwl^MTgtoraSdrr! betwecn thc coimiiercial and 

vived him three years. Died 1802. ^j^^ agriculturul iutcrCStS, Or bc- 

tween the producer of manufactured goods and the con- 
sumer of them. In the agricultural coimnunities the great 
The Debate on i^^ajority of tlic pcoplc wcrc growers of raw 
the Tariff products and the users of manufactured 

goods. Their representatives in Congress agreed to 
the laying of tariffs or duties on manufactured im- 
ports as the simplest and least objectionable way of 
raising the money necessaiy to cany on the work 
of the Federal government. They did not wish, however. 



THE DEBATE ON THE TARIFF 



201 



to make these tariffs any higher than was essential to 
provide revenue, and they objected to tariff taxation for 
any other purpose. On the other hand, the representa- 
tives of the manufacturing communities demanded an 




THE INAUGURATION OF GEORGE WASHINGTON 

As presented by the Constitutional League of America on the one hundred and thirty tirst 
anniversary, April 30, 1920. The statue of Washington stands upon the steps of the 
United htates Sub-Treasury, New York City, approximately the spot where the first 

President stood in 1789. 

increase in the tariff rates in order to *^ protect'' Ameri- 
can manufactures against competition with imported 
goods. This, they argued, would enable them to 



202 FEDKHATJS^r PIMUOD UNl^ER CONSTITUTION 

l)ei;'iu iiulustries forbidden in colonial days l)y (hval 
Britain, and to aid tlioso industries that had already 
heen established. 

It so Inippened that the northern Stales eontained 
praetieally all the inanul'aetnrini;- eonnnunities, Avhile the 
southern States were almost entirely t;'iven over to ai»'ri- 
cultural pursuits and interests. This discussion, tlier(»- 
t'ore, broug'ht forward sectional clashes in 
ciash^ o°n* the new Cong-ress. The theory of protection 

Economic Grounds •lii i i ' i .L^ i*i 

carried the day, and its growth, winch w^as 
lirst stimulated after the second w^ar wdtli Great Britain, 
brought about the dangerous tariff dispute in South Caro- 
lina in ISol, and became the deep-seated cause of many 
of the diiferenci^s that led up to the armed conflict between 
the sections in 1861. 

North Carolina came into the Union in 1789; and, in 
1790, on the accession ot* Khode Island, the Union was 
complete with the thirteen original colonies in the bond 

of the new republic. In conmion with other 

First Amendments .-n,, , -r^-. i t l i • • i. i • T x 

to the States, Khode island insisted on immediate 

amendments to the Constitution which 
would insure an expressed acknowdedginent of the funda- 
mental freedom of the people in matters of religious and 
civil rights. 

Twolve Aniondnionts wore otfered. Two of these were rejected 
by the States, but the remaining' ten were adopted. Nine of these 
Amendments were promptly adopted by a liberty-loving-, self- 
governing, and self-controlled people in order forever to g*uard 
agai]ist milit<u\v, civil, and religious tyranny. The tenth and 
last of these Amendments was a g-eneral declaration of State 
rights designed to g'uard agfainst the encroachment of Federal 
power, a further illustration of the prevailing devotion to local 
self-ffovernmont characteristic of the colonies. All of these Amend- 



POLICIES OF JEFFERSON AND HAMILTON 203 

ments are generally believed to have been chiefly the work of 
George Mason, of Virginia, a neighbor of George Washington, and 
the author of the Virginia Bill of Rights, adopted June 12, 1776. 

This, in general, outlines the work of the first session of Con- 
gress under the Federal Union. It had accomplished many good 
things. It had started the machinery of government ; it had 
provided, in the first Amendments to the Consti- 
tution, a great statement of the American Bill |?rTs7ssi*on^^^ 
of Rights ; but it had also started a sectional ^.^^^^^,^1 Congress 
controversy that was to trouble the sessions of 
successive Congresses for mam^ years to come. 

In selecting his advisers, Washington chose men of different 
political views. He wanted to avoid factions and T)arty politics. 
Jii the selection of Hamilton and Jeff'erson he found two men 
who seemed equally anxious to serve their country well, but who 
differed so greatly in their ideas as to government that they could 
not continue to work together in harmony. As the differences 
between the views of these two ver^^ able men represent differ- 
ences not between individuals only, but political theories which 
have influenced the development of our countr^^ from that time 
to this, it is important to understand what these theories were. 

Alexander Hamilton was born in the West Indies in 1757. 
He was educated at King's College (Columbia University), and 
became a colonial leader at a very early age. Although he took 
his stand with the Revolutionary party in America, he thought 
that the British form of government, as it then existed, would 
furnish the best model for America. He wanted the President 
to be elected for life with an absolute veto (not to be 
overridden) and chosen indirectly. Under his plan, j°ffe"lon°^ 
Senators, also, were to be elected for life, while Con- Hamilton 
gress was to appoint the governors of the several States 
and have an absolute veto on all State legislation. He did not 
believe that the ma.sses of the people were capable of exercising 
political privilegt^s. He thought that the control of the govern- 
ment should be in the hands of a few; for example, the ''well- 
born" and the ''well-to-do," or those having property interests. 
For the Federal government he advocated almost unlimited power 
over the people and over the States. Hamilton was also an 



204 FEDERALIST PERIOD UNDER CONSTITUTION 

advocate of high import taxes or tariffs, not only to provide 
money to make the Federal government strong, but also to pro- 
tect and build up powerful manufacturing interests. He would 
have preferred an hereditary monarchy to the dangerous pros- 
pect he thought he saw in allowing the people generally to have 
a voice in the conduct of governmental policies. 

Thomas Jefferson was a descendant of John Jefferson, in 1619 
a member of the Jamestown House of Burgesses, the first repre- 
sentative assembly in the New World. Thomas Jefferson believed 
that all the people should have a share in the making. and main- 
tenance of government. He was so opposed to privileged classes 
that, as soon as the Revolution gave him opportunity, he at once 
worked for the complete overthrow in his own State of every 
form of privilege derived from British custom or heritage. He 
believed that the Federal government should have no more power 
than was absolutely necessary to maintain foreign treaties and to 
carry out those provisions precisely set forth in the wording of 
the Constitution. Except in regard to certain matters pertain- 
ing to Federal finance, Jefferson's views were so out of harmony 
with tJiose of Hamilton that either thought the other positively 
dangerous to the welfare of the government. Jefferson felt sure . 
that Hamilton was a reactionary inclined to build up a new 
autocrac}^ ; while Hamilton was equally convinced that Jefferson - 
was a demagogue, who was appealing to the passions of the mob. 

It now seems fortunate that part of the views of either leader 
prevailed in the formation of the government. If Hamilton had 
had his way only, a Federal government might have been created 
so much like the Old World forms of his age that the people 
Avould have rejected it altogether, and the country might have 
seen another revolution, with disastrous consequences to all con- 
cerned. On the other hand, had Jefferson's views wholly pre- 
vailed, the Federal government might possibly, in the early 
stages of its existence, have lacked the means to command respect 
or to maintain itself at all. Hamilton's measures in assuming 
the Revolutionary debts of the States, and in establishing a great 
bank under Federal control, were fortunate at the beginning in 
that they helped to create confidence in the stability of the new 



STATE AND FEDERAL DEBTS 205 

government. On the whole, it was the mind of Jefferson rather 
than that of Hamilton which shaped the destinies of the Union.^ 

Like the first, the second session of Congress under 
the Constitution had serious problems to solve. The 
most important of these was how to meet the debts in- 
curred by the Confederation during the war for inde- 
pendence. Washington had turned to Alexander Hamilton 
as the man capable of solving this problem, and he could 
not have made a better choice. Hamilton submitted a plan 
by which the Federal government was not only to assume 
the debt of the Confederation but the State debts also. 
At first, objections were raised to the full pa>anent of 
the general debt on the ground that, as speculators had 
bought in the certificates from the first holders 
at much less than face value, the Confederation, FedlraT 

Debts 

for that reason, did not owe these speculators the 
full amount of the original notes. There was also con- 
siderable opposition to the assumption by the Federal 
.government of State debts, and Hamilton's plan was 
opposed by representatives from a number of the States. 
These representatives contended that such a course en- 
hanced overmuch the prestige or power of the Federal 
government, and that it seemed likely, in equal measure, 
to encroach upon the sovereignty of the individual States. 
Moreover, this measure was opposed by the Congressmen 
from some of the States because their respective States 
had already paid a larger proportion of their individual 
debts than had other States. 

The debate on this question was an extended one, not- 

^ See also references! to the contrary views of John Winthrop and 
Thomas Hooker, page 58. 



206 FEDERALIST PERIOD UNDER CONSTITUTION 

withstanding Hamilton's masterly argument in favor of 
the plan he had proposed. Its opponents were powerful, 
and they might have prevented its adoption but for a 
compromise in connection with another issue. 
s?itrD?btl and It so happened that Virginia and a number 
of the southern States had been the ones to 
pay the larger proportion of their respective war debts. 
At the same time, southern Congressmen were desirous 
of placing the proposed national capital on the banks of 
the Potomac rather than in the northern States, where 
northern representatives wished it to remain. Finally, 
a compromise was effected, by which it was agreed that 
the Federal government should assume the State debts, 
and that the Federal capital should be established on the 
Potomac instead of at Philadelphia or New York. 

Another important question was brought to the atten- 
tion of Congress in the form of petitions from the Quakers 
of Pennsylvania for the abolition of slavery. This ques- 
tion, however, had not yet become a sectional one involv- 
ing bitter controversy, and even more bitter animosities. 
A memorial was presented from the Pennsylvania Society 

for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery, of 
Introduction ^j^ich Bcujamin Franklin was the president. 

These memorials, unlike many of those ob- 
jected to by Southerners at a later time, were expressed 
in earnest but temperate language, and the argument for 
the freedom of the slave was not coupled with violent 
abuse of his owner. Congress, however, declared that, 
under the Constitution, this question could be decided by 
the States only, and that the Federal government had no 
authoritv in the matter. 



TENNESSEE 207 

At the second session of the first Congress, the first natural- 
ization laws were framed, and preparations were thus made to 
welcome the millions upon millions of Old World immigrants 
who were to seek homes in the new Republic. ^ . .. ^ 

„ • 1 1 T • -1 Immigration Laws 

Patent and copyright laws were passed ni order and 

T ., 1 . T the First Census 

to encourage invention and autihorship, and 

Congress promptly made provision for the first Federal census. 

This census showed a total population of 3,929,000. 

The first accession to the union of the thirteen original 
States was Vermont, in 1791."^ This commonwealth had main- 
tained an independent existence since 1777. Two years 
later the county of Kentucky in Virginia had so in- 
creased in population that it obtained the consent of Virginia 
to separation. Consequently, Kentucky organized its own gov- 
ernment, applied for admission, and was received into 

Kentucky 

the Federal Union in 1792 as the fifteenth State. In 
1796, Tennessee, the first State carved out of territory definitely 
ceded to the Federal government was admitted to the Union. 
Andrew Jackson, a future President of the United States, was 
elected to Congress as its first representative. Most of the terri- 
tory of Tennessee had been originally known as the 

. Tennessee 

Watauga settlements, and at one time it had claimed 
an independent existence as the State of Franklin or Frankland. 
This w^as due to some difficulties that had arisen with the parent 
commonwealth of North Carolina. Later, Tennessee became 
again a part of the mother State. This practical independence 
of the State of Frankland existed from 1784 until 1788, and may 
be compared with the independent existence of Vermont, North 
Carolina, Rhode Island, and, later, Texas. 

The first clash between the Federal government and the people 
of a State occurred in western Pennsylvania. Congress had 
passed a bill authorizing a tax on distilled spirits. This tax was 
felt most heavily by the people living in western communities. 

* North Carolina joined the Union in November, 1789, but Rhode 
Island remained outside as a tiny independent commonwealth until May 29, 
1790, so that when President Washington traveled tli rough the New Eng- 
land States in 1789, he " went around " Rhode Island as " foreign territory." 



208 FEDERALIST PERIOD UNDER CONSTITUTION 

Here the farmers raised large crops of corn ; but they could not 
^. , „ . ^ get it to the eastern markets on account of the 

First Resistance ^ 

wretched condition of the roads. By using the 
g:rain in the making of spirituous liquors, they could 
reduce it to a manufactured article of smaller bulk and of greater 
commercial value. The Federal tax collectors were resisted, and 
Washington had to call out a Federal force to overcome the 
"rebellion.'^ The protest of these farmers gains added weight 



to Federal 
Authority 




A RECEPTION BY MARTHA WASHINGTON, AS THE WIFE OF THE FIRST PRESIDENT OF 

THE UNITED STATES 

when we find that Albert Gallatin, a future Secretary of the 
Treasury and a successor of Hamilton, sympathized with the 
protest, although not with the plans for armed resistance. 

Western expansion ag*ain brought on Indian wars. 

These wars lasted from 1790 to 1795, and it tested the 

strength of the Federal government to 

The United States vs. i xi /^ i tt i 

the Indians of the end them, (reneral Harmar was sent 

Northwest Territory . , tt i i i o i i 

agamst the Indians, but was deieated on 
the Mauniee River, Ohio, in October, 1790. In the follow- 
ing year, General St. Clair, the territorial governor, was 



TRANS-ALLEGHANY SETTLEMENT 209 

likewise defeated near the same place. In 1794, however, 
General Anthony Wayne retrieved these disasters by a 
great victory over the allied tribes at the battle of 
Fallen Timbers. 

During the whole of the Revolutionary period, through- 
out the period of the Confederation, and during Washing- 
ton's administrations, the tide of frontier life was pushing 
steadily westward. After the fall of ^*New France" in 
1763, Great Britain had tried to hold back English settle- 
ment from extending beyond the Alleghanies; but the 
Revolution and the conquest of the Northwest by George 
Rogers Clark changed these conditions, and xrans-Aiieghany 
settlement had already begun south of the Settlement 
Ohio River in Kentucky and Tennessee. Prior to the com- 
ing of the white settlers, Kentucky had been a kind of 
"hunting ground" for northern and southern tribes of 
Indians. Settlement in this territory was made possible 
by the defeat of Cornstalk at the battle of Point Pleasant 
or the Great Kanawha (page 108). Conditions of settle- 
ment were different from those in other regions where the 
frontier had progressed gradually westward. In Kentucky 
the first places- selected for settlement were on the other 
side of mountainous districts far beyond the English out- 
posts. The men who had the most active part in the 
earliest development of Kentucky were James Harrod, 
Daniel Boone, and Richard Henderson. Harrodstown was 
founded in 1774 and Boonesboro in 1775. Tennessee had 
an even earlier beginning in the Watauga settlements, and 
these offshoots of Virginia and North Carolina had become 
vigorous States before the end of the eighteenth century 
(see page 207). 

14 



210 FEDERALIST PERIOD UNDER CONSTITUTION 

Washingrton wished to retire to private life at the end of his 
first term in 1793, but he was persuaded to serve again, and he 
was again unanimously elected, the only one of our Presidents 
who has had that distinction. 

During' Washington 's administration the French people over- 
threw the burdensome rule of their Bourbon kings and set up a 
republic. But, in contrast with the Americans, the people of 
Revolution France were not prepared for orderl}^ republican forms 
in France ^f government b}^ a long period of self-control. They 
went to great extremes and fell under the dominance of violent 
men who were guilty of great crimes in the name of liberty. In 
the course of time, France went to war with the other nations of 
Europe and called on the United States to redeem pledges of 
help and assistance made in the treaty of 1778. Washington and 
his advisers refused assistance to the new republic, chiefly on 
the ground that it was not waging a war of defense, but one of 
attack or aggression. 

The majority of the people of the United States sympathized 
with the French people as the European champions of democ- 
racy against monarchy. The minister sent to the United States 
])y France was Edmond Genet, or "Citizen" Genet, as he was 
called. He landed at Charleston, South Carolina, and was re- 
ceived with so hearty a welcome that he thought he' could drive 
the Federal government into war against Great Britain through 
the force of popular opinion. He tried to stir up the people to 
equip privateers to prey upon British commerce, and he behaved 
in a manner so highly improper that Washington requested the 
French government to recall him and disavow his actions. 

By insisting on the neutrality of the United States, 

Washington gained for the country the ill-will of the new 

French government. In a general way, his policies 

._ favored Great Britain; but Great Britain was 

Treaty with ' 

w"a?hhigion causing much irritation in the United States 
Denounced tlirougli its persistcuce in holding some of the 
western forts, such as Ontario and Detroit, and by fre- 
quently impressing American sailors into her service 



ELECTION OF JOHN ADAMS 211 

when lier war vessels found them on the hi^h seas. Wash- 
ington sent Chief Justice Jay to England to settle these 
ditf erences ; but the Jay treaty was, except with regard 
to the western forts, unsatisfactory, and it raised a storm 
of protest against Washington himself when its terms 
became known. 

It will be remembered that Hamilton and Jefferson had been 
chosen by Washing-ton as Secretary of the Treasury and Secre- 
tary of State respectively, but these men did not work together in 
harmony, and had very different views of g-overmnent. Wash- 
ington earnestly wished to avoid any connection with one faction 
or party as against another, but when party differences became 
more and more distinct he was to some extent forced to take a 
stand with one or the other. At first, Hamilton and his faction 
largely prevailed in shaping- the policies of the government and 
he and his followers were called Federalists, while Jefferson and 
his adherents became knoM^n as Republicans or Demo- 
cratic-Republicans, the founders of the Democratic Democratic 
party. On account of disagreements, both Hamilton 
and Jefferson retired from the cabinet, and each began to advo- 
cate his particular theories of government. Hamilton, Adams, 
Marshall, and C. C. Pinckney became the recognized leaders of 
the Federal party; on the other hand, Jefferson and Madison 
became the leaders of the Republicans, who were destined in a 
few years to prevail over the Federalists. 

In the following Presidential campaign the Federalists 
brought fonvard John Adams, of Massachusetts, while the Demo- 
cratic-Republican party supported Thomas Jefferson, Election of 
of Virginia. Adams received 71 electoral votes and J°^" Adams 
was declared President. Jefferson, having received the next 
highest number of votes (68), was elected Vice-President, in 
accordance wdth the first method of electing- these officials. 

The administration of John Adams was stormy both 
at home and abroad. Fresh difficulties with France arose 



212 FEDERALIST PERIOD UNDER CONSTITUTION 

at the beginning of his term in 1797. The provisions of 
the Jay treaty had offended the French government, but 
Jefferson's Democratic associate, James Monroe, had 
Threatened War ^^^^^ acceptable to the pcople of the French 
with France Repubhc as the representative of the United 
States. He was now replaced by Charles C. Pinckney, a 
Federalist from South Carolina. The French govern- 
ment resented the change, and refused to receive thei new 
minister. This was followed by hostile acts on the part 
of the French in the seizure of American ships and mer- 
chandise. President Adams called a special session of 
Congress, and John Marshall and Elbridge Gerry were, 
together with Pinckney, appointed envoys extraordinary^ 
to France. 

Privately, these envoys were received at Paris with courtesy, 

but the}^ were not officially recognized for many months. While 

in Paris, however, they were approached by the emissaries of 

Tallevrand, the French minister, through whom it was 

The .^7 "-J 

X, Y, z suggested that if money were forthcoming in the nature 
of bribes or inducements to French officials, negotiations 
could be successfully concluded. These proposals were rejected 
by the American envoys, who, in the official correspondence to the 
United States government, referred to the three agents of Talley- 
rand as X, Y, and Z. When the nature of the "X, Y, Z letters" 
became known, widespread resentment was aroused in the United 
States, a resentment that reacted favorably to the Federalist 
party and abated much of the previous enthusiasm in America 
for the new republic across the sea, which was, however, soon to 
come under the imperial control of Napoleon Bonaparte. 

Meanwhile, the French government, elated over the won- 
derful victories of Bonaparte, w^as disposed to despise the 
weakness of the distant American republic. On the other hand, 
the very completeness of Napoleon's success aroused a coalition 
of European powers against France, so that the French govern- 



ALIEN AND SEDITION LAWS 213 

ment had sufficient trouble to occupy it at home without pro- 
voking the active hostility of the United States. Nevertheless, 
in America, preparations for war went on. , Washington was 
appointed commander-in-chief, and orders were given for the 
purchase and equipment of war vessels to be added to the small 
United States navy, which at that time could boast of but three 
finished frigates, the Constitution, the United States, and the 
Constellation. The last named, under Commodore Truxtun, had 
sharp engagements with French warships, defeating one and 
capturing the frigate L'livsurgente (1799) , in a fight which lasted 
over an hour, and in which the French vessel had 41 men killed 
and a large number wounded. The American loss was two killed. 
There was some privateering connected with these hostilities, 
but peaceful relations between the two countries were reestab- 
lished by a convention signed in September, 1800. 

In spite of the popular support which, in opposing 
French aggression, the Federalists had gained for a time, 
that party was losing favor. Under the guise of prepara- 
tion for war, it was believed that its leaders were en- 
deavoring to suppress the liberties of the people, and 
especially the rights of the States. This distrust 
was greatly increased when the Federalist ma- sedition" 
jority in Congress sought to make use of the 
government to stop criticism of the Administration. In 
1798, Congress passed measures known as the ^' Alien 
and Sedition Laws.'^ The Alien law gave power to the 
President to expel from the country, without trial, any 
foreigner whom he might reg'ard as being dangerous to 
the peace and safety of the country. The Sedition law 
made it a crime to publish false or malicious writings 
against the government and it provided for a fine or 
imprisonment for those who might combine in opposition 
to any measure or measures of the government. 



214 FEDERALIST PERIOD UNDER CONSTITUTION 

To Jefferson and the Democratic-Republican party, 
these acts appeared to menace the freedom of the press 
and of the individual. Since to oppose or denounce the 
acts rendered a person liable to prosecution, Jefferson 
and Madison determined to strike at them through the 
action of State legislatures. Consequently, Jefferson 
persuaded the legislature of Kentucky to pass resolutions 
setting forth that the Constitution was a com- 

Doctrine of *=• 

Nullification pr^^,^ qj. agreement between the States, that the 
Federal Government in the Alien and Sedition laws had 
assumed powers not delegated to it by the States, and 
that therefore these laws were "void and of no force.'' 
Madison, the *' Father of the Constitution," induced the 
legislature of Virginia to pass similar but somewhat less 
positive resolutions. The Kentucky resolutions in par- 
ticular presented the doctrine of nullification, or the right 
of a State to decide for itself whether a law was consti- 
tutional or within the powers ' ' delegated ' ' by the States to 
the Federal government. There were those who pointed 
out that the United States Supreme Court was the tri- 
bunal to pass upon the Constitutionality of Federal laws. 
Nevertheless, the States, on sundry occasions, took mat- 
ters into their own hands for upwards of half a century. 

Perhaps Jefferson and Madison might have spared their ex- 
pressions in the Kentucky and A^irginia resoUitions, for the Alien 
and Sedition laws were overwhehningiy condenmed by the 
people; and, from that time, Federalist power began to wane. 
Washington, although not a party man, could no longer be 
appealed to by his Federalist friends, for Washington had died 
on the 14th of December, 1799. Besides, since Hamilton and 
Adams were not kindly disposed to each other, dissensions split 



GOVERNMENT 215 

the Federalist ranks.^ Consequently, Adams was defeated for 
reelection, receiving but 65 votes, against a tie vote of 73 each 
for Thomas Jeiferson and Aaron Burr, the Democratic-Republi- 
can leaders. Congress, called upon to decide between Jefferson 
and Burr, chose the former. Burr became Vice-President, and 
shortly thereafter the Twelfth Amendment to the Constitution 
changed this method of election for President and Vice-President. 

NOTES AND SIDELIGHTS 

Knowledge of the Constitution. — America is the happiest 
and most prosperous country in the world to-day, largely because 
it has been able to use the ballot longest and the bullet least. 
Although a 3"0ung nation among the great Powers of the earth, 
the United States of America has the oldest form of government ; 
or, more accurately, the one which has lasted longest without 
destructive change. It mast be a matter of the highest interest 
to ever}' American citizen, native-born or adopted, to know how 
such a Government was created, how it operates, and how it may 
be made the means of further progress in promoting human 
happiness. 

Government. — Governments are either set up under kings or 
autocrats, or the people themselves create their own government 
through their chosen representatives. There can be no question 
whether or not government shall remain. The only question is 
what kind of government we shall have. 

The safety of self-government among free men is based on the 
self-control of those who vote and thereby make new laws or 
change old ones. Those who have not learned to control themselves 
are usually controlled by others. Either they are driven along 
by a few, or else they are led along to their own undoing by 
smooth-talking men who, to get power for themselves, promise 
many things they know they cannot or ought not to carry out. 

^In the midst of the difficulties between the Federalists and the Demo- 
cratic-Republican party, an effort was made to found a third party, '' called 
Quids (from the chemical term Tertium, quid). It did not succeed, and 
Mr. Burr did not put himself at the head of it." — Unpublished correspond- 
ence of Benjamin H. Latrobe, 



216 FEDERALIST PERIOD UNDER CONSTITUTION 

Duties and Obligations of Citizenship. — No one can fairly 
say that the Government of the United States has been or is per- 
fect. Again, no one can truthfully deny that some of the provi- 
sions of the Constitution have, at times, been abused or even 
violated. A working knowledge of the important parts of this 
great charter of popular government, by all the people, will do 
more than an\i:hing else to prevent such abuse and to preserve 
and secure the rights and privileges of a free people under the 
simple but wonderfully complete plan set forth in the Consti- 
tution OF THE United States of America. 

The United States is not and cannot be a democracy in the 
sense that every citizen can vote directly on every subject that 
comes up for action. The Constitution has established a repre- 
sentative democracy under a federal form of government. This 
is what the framers of that instrument worked out; and, in so 
doing, they hit upon the Golden Mean between the irresponsible 
monarch and the equally irresponsible mob. It lies between the 
ideas of special privilege advocated by Alexander Hamilton and 
that of the reckless overthrow of property and credits advanced 
by Daniel Shays. 

Figures of the First Census. — The first Federal census under 
the Constitution showed that the State of A^irginia led in popu- 
lation. Pennsylvania was second, and North Carolina third. 
Proportionately few people lived in large cities or towns. Of 
the white population, 1,900,000 were north of Mason and Dixon's 
Line, and 1,271,000 to the south of it. Forty thousand slaves 
were north of the line, over 600,000 south of it. 

Invention of the Cotton Gin and Its Effect on the Slave 
Trade. — Although it seems that some earlier appliances had been 
tested for separating the seed from the cotton, Eli Whitney, a 
Massachusetts vschool teacher in Georgia, invented a cotton gin 
which enabled a person to clean one hundred pounds of cotton in 
the time it formerly took to clean one pound. Whitney brought 
his invention to general notice in 1793, and cotton soon became 
the leading export of the United States. The immensely increased 
value of cotton made negro slave labor in the South very much 
more profitable- than before. It increased the slave trade in 
African negroes, a traffic which at one time was highly profitable 



BEGINNINGS OF THE STEAMBOAT 217 

to Great Britain and which began in the New Engiand colonies as 
early as 1636 (see page 61). New England had long been famous 
for her well-built ships and hardy sailors. Some of these ships 
sailed regularly from Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Massa- 
chusetts, carrying merchandise to the West Indies. Here they 
took on cargoes of tropical products, chiefly sugar and molasses, 
and returned to the New England coast, where the sugar and 
molasses were made into rum. With rum and beads and trinkets 
they sailed for Africa and bought negroes. The negroes were 
sometimes captured b}^ white men ; but, oftener, they were war- 
islaves of the various tribes and a number of them were cannibals. 
They were packed on board of the ships and brought over to be 
sold in the markets of the coast towns of the South. They were 
bought by planters and put to work in the rice and cotton fields. 
At the hands of Americans they received far better treatment 
than the best they could expect as slaves or captives in Africa 
or anywhere else at that time. Their manners and morals im- 
proved in contact A\4th a high type of civilization, so that, in two 
generations, the lowest grades of "voodoo" savages were raised 
hundreds of years in the scale of human progress. 

Notes on the Beginnings of the Steamboat. — A monument 
erected at Shepherdstown, West Virginia, commemorates the in- 
ventive genius of an American w^ho worked out the model of a 
steamboat as early as 1784 and who, three years later, launched 
the vessel itself on the Potomac River in the presence of General 
Gates and other officers of the Continental army. This American 
inventor was James Rumsey, of Maryland. At this time George 
Washington wrote encouragingly to Rumsey and warned him 
against those who might seize upon his ideas as their o^^^l. Rum- 
sey was poor, and Washington's kindly advice did not equip 
steamboats ; but Benjamin Franklin, who also was an inventor 
and scientist, became interested, and helped Rumsey to go abroad 
to get assistance. Rumsey, however, died in London, just as he 
seemed about to get the help he needed. 

In 1789, not long after the early experiments of Rumsey, 
John Fitch, of Connecticut, constructed a steamboat that w^as 
more successful than Rumsey 's; but he, too, failed to achieve 
permanent success in navigation. Besides Rumsey and Fitch, 



218 FEDERALIST PERIOD UNDER CONSTITUTION 

other persons, from New England to Georgia, constructed steam- 
boats; but it remained for Robert Fulton, of Pennsjdvania, to 
become the ''father of steamboat navigation." In 1807, his first 
boat, the Clermont, made regular trips on the Hudson River 
between New York and Albany. I^'ulton had previously been 
abroad in England and France. In England he had invented 
machines for spinning flax and for making rope. In France 
he experimented with a ''plunging boat" (a submarine) and 
with torpedoes. Napoleon was, for a time, interested in Fulton's 
ideas ; but the French government would not assist him. In 1806 
he returned to the ITnited States and gave first to his o\vn country 
the greatest product of his genius. 



CHAPTER X 

Era of Jeffersonian Democracy 



PERIOD I : FROM ELECTION OF JEFFERSON TO CLOSE OF 
THE WAR OF 1812 

The election of 
Thomas Jefferson 
brought about a very 
marked change in 
government and poli- 
tics. It was the ^^tri- 
mnph of democracy" 
over the efforts of 
the Federalists t o 
keep the control of 
the government in the 
hands of the few. A 
genuine democratic 
simplicity began at 
once to set aside cer- 
tain ^ Wrappings of 
authority" to which 
the Federalists had 
been much given. 
The newly laid out 
city of Washington 
furnished a good 
background for the 
first inauguration in 
the new capital 
under the new order. 




THOMAS JEFFERSON 

Statue by Karl Bitter at the University of Vir- 
ginia, founded by Jefferson. Born in Virginia, April 
13, 1743; author of Declaration of Independence in 
Continental Congress, 1776; Governor of Virginia, 
1779-'81; succeeded Franklin as minister to Paris, 
1784; first Secretary of State under Washington; 
Vice-President, 1797-1801; President, 1801-'09; 
secured Louisiana Territory by purchase and the 
Oregon country for the United States through ex- 
ploration. Died July 4, 1826. 



219 



220 ERA OF JEFFERSONIAN DEMOCRACY 

The spacious Pennsylvania Avenue of the future, which 
then as now connected the White House with the 
Capitol, w^as a muddy road with here and there an occa- 
sional straggling house on either side. Over a part of 
this road, Jefferson, escorted by a small body of militia, 
walked from his boarding house to the Capitol, where he 
took the oath of office and delivered his inaugural address. 
Hamilton and many of his associates had sincerely be- 
lieved in impressive ceremonies and much pomp of 
appearance. To Jefferson, such things were so dis- 
tasteful that, at times, he went to extremes in the 
opposite direction. 

The new President was a shrewd political leader. He was 
not only a politician who built up a powerful and long-lived 
following-, but a practical idealist with a world-wide vision of men 
and events. His mind was a truly remarkable storehouse of 
knowledge, and little that was worth while in science or invention, 
or in the sphere of reasoning or philosophy, escaped the range 
of his comprehensive studies. 

Although the two men were afterwards congenial correspon- 
dents, John Adams, at this period, disliked Jefferson, and genu- 
inely feared the policy of the Democratic-Republican leaders. As 
The Problem of President, Adams had not only confined his ap- 
poiiticai "Spoils" pointments to Federalists, but he had spent the 
last hours of his administration in appointing Federalists to 7iew 
offices hastily created by a Federalist Congress during the last 
days of its final session. New Federal courts had been cre- 
ated, and Secretary of State John Marshall and President 
Adams were busily making out and signing commissions for the 
new judges and their assistants until the very day of Jeffer- 
son's inauguration.^ 

^ Not completing his work in time to deliver the commissions, Marshall 
left them in his office to be forwarded by his Democratic successor, James 
Madison. Jeflferson, however, not only withheld the commissions for these 
" midnight appointments," but he got a new Congress to repeal the act 



WAR WITH THE BARBARY STATES 



221 



On general principles, Jefferson was opposed to war and war 
measures; but, at the beginning of his administration in 1801, 
difficulties arose between the United States and the Barbary 
powers in North Africa. Previously, President Washington had 
felt compelled to make a treaty with those piratical ^^r with the 
peoples, by the terms of which the United States Barbary states 
bound itself to pay annual tribute. Jefferson now sent to the 
distant Mediterranean an armed force, which, after much hard 
service and lively fighting, accomplished its purpose of convinc- 




WASHINGTON IN 1800 

ing the Mohammedan rulers of Tripoli, Algiers, and the other 
Barbary States that the United States would maintain its rights 
on the high seas ; so that thereafter commercial tribute and ran- 
soms for the lives of United States sailors ceased. Moreover, 
the far distant western republic set an example to European 
nations which led to the complete overthrow of what they had 
come to recognize as a necessary evil. 

During- his administration, Jefferson found it very 
difficult to keep out of difficulties with the leading nations 

establishing the new courts. As it turned out, th-e new courts were not 
needed for some fifty years. Marshall, Jefferson's political opponent from 
Virginia, had been appointed Chief Justice of the United States Supreme 
Court, where, for a third of a century, his interpretations had a profound 
influence on the development of the Republic. 



222 ERA OF JEFFERSONIAN DEMOCRACY 

of Europe, for the whole of that continent was involved in 
bitter conflict. France and Great Britain, the most power- 
ful of the belligerents, were both inclined to treat the 
Relations with y^uug American Republic with indifference 

European Powers ^y COUtcmpt. WllCU, hoWCVCr, JciferSOn 

found out that Napoleon, by a secret treaty with Spain, 
had secured the claims of the latter country for the great 
^'Louisiana territory" in the Southwest, he boldly let it 
be known that the United States would make an alliance 
with Great Britain rather than have this treaty be- 
come effective. 

Jefferson had already proposed the purchase of a part 
of this territory in order to secure free passage on the 
Mississippi for the trade of the Western settlements. 
Thereafter, in 1803, Napoleon, fearing that the British 
would seize the Louisiana territory, suddenly offered to 
sell the whole of it to the United States. A treaty was 
accordingly drawn up, by the terms of which Louisiana 
was purchased for $15,000,000. Thus Jefferson peacefully 
and permanently secured for the United States a territory 
greater than that temporarily conquered by Napoleon 
for France at the sacrifice of millions of lives and 
infinite treasure.^ 

On various occasions in the course of the development 

' Jefferson believed in an economical administration of public affairs 
and he acted on that belief with perhaps greater success than any other 
President. His wisely chosen secretary of the treasury, Albert Gallatin, 
was an able successor to Alexander Hamilton. Under the Federalists, the 
national debt had increased to about $80,000,000, but under Jefferson, 
Gallatin showed each year a substantial surplus in the treasury after pay- 
ing off large portions of this debt, in spite of the necessity of issuing 
$15,000,000 of bonds in payment for the purchase of the Louisiana terri- 
tory and the expense of the war with the Barbary States. 



OPPOSITION TO THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE 223 

of United States history, it is necessary to explain the 
seemingly unreasonable stand taken by different States or 
groups of States against the action of the Federal govern- 
ment, especially when that appears to us to-day as wholly 
beneficial. Sometimes these States protested because 
they feared imperialism by a central authority, as shown 
by the passing of the Kentucky and Virginia resolutions 
(page 214) ; or because the people of one group of States 
feared the power of those of another group acting through 
their control of the central government, opposition to the 
The purchase, therefore, of the Louisiana ^-^^-^^^^"^ p^^'^^^^^ 
territory aroused great opposition in New England. The 
people of that section feared that, in the growth of the 
South and West, the New England States would have a 
steadily diminishing voice in the councils of the Republic. 
Consequently, the legislature of Massachusetts passed a 
resolution which declared that the adding of the Louisiana 
territory to the Union '^ formed a new Confederacy to 
which the States united hy the former compact (the Con- 
stitution) are not hound to adhere/^ A separate con- 
federation or republic was suggested, more or less openly, 
which was to consist of the New England States, New 
York, and possibly New Jersey, where the Federalists still 
had a strong following. For Governor of New York, 
therefore, the Federalists supported Aaron Burr, an un- 
scrupulous Democratic-Republican, who was out of har- 
mony with Jefferson, and who would try to carry out the 
plans proposed by the more disaffected Federalists. 

Alexander Hamilton, however, was opposed to any such 
scheme and g:reatly helped in bringing about the defeat of Burr. 
The latter, accusing Hamilton of having slandered him, chal- 



224 ERA OF JEFFERSONIAN DEMOCRACY 

lenged the great Federalist to a duel, in which Hamilton was 
Hamilton-Burr mortally wounded, July 11, 1804. The death of 
^^^^ Hamilton aroused great indignation against Burr 

and called especial attention to the so-called conspiracy to estab- 
lish a northern confederacy. Popular opinion almost everywhere 
turned against the Federalists ; so that, in the Presidential elec- 
tion of 1804, Jefferson received 162 votes to 14 cast for C. C. 
Pinckney, his Federal opponent.^ 

Althoug'h Jefferson had surprised himself in securing 
so easily the whole of the Louisiana territory, he imme- 
diately planned not only to explore that 

Lewis and Clark j ij.ii. i T^.'^ 

Expedition to countrj, Dut also to send an expedition to 

the unkno"v\m regions beyond the Hocky 

Mountains north of the Spanish claims. The men selected 

to guide this hazardous exploration were Meriwether 




From Uu^iuw'^ History of :Mi.ssi.s,siiipi Valli-y (IIoiijj;lit. !. a .U.lili;, L-^. , 

AN OHIO PLAT-BOAT 



Lewis and William Clark, a younger brother of the George 
Rogers Clark who had, under Governors Henry and 
Jefferson, won for Virginia the ''Illinois country'' 
(page 172). 

With a small band of United States soldiers and some 
volunteers from Kentucky, Lewis and Clark set out from 
St. Louis in May, 1804. They worked their way up the 
Missouri River, crossed the Great Divide, and went down 
the Columbia River to the Pacific, claiming the entire 

^ See page 215. 



FOREIGN AFFAIRS 225 

* * Oreg'on country ' ' for the United States. The expedition 
returned to St. Louis in September, 1806, and the records 
of their travel show that they had to contend with innu- 
merable difficulties, besides facing the constant danger of 
attacks by fierce Indian tribes. In due time, hunters, trap- 
pers, and settlers followed the course of Lewis and Clark. 
Five years after their return to St. Louis, Astoria was 
established as a trading post at the mouth of the 
Columbia River. 

While Jefferson was planning for the peaceful expan- 
sion of the Republic, Europe continued either in a state 
of war or in preparation for it. France, under Napoleon, 
endeavored to control most of the continent of Europe; 
Great Britain, on the other hand, ruled the sea. As be- 
fore stated, both great powers despised the weakness of 
America, so that the commerce of the United States ^ . 

' Foreign 

was seriously injured between the blows of the ^^^^^^ 
bellig'erents in their desperate efforts to cripple each 
other's resources. Protests made by the United States 
had little or no weight ; so Jefferson persuaded Congress 
to pass^ bills to prevent all intercourse with the warring 
nations. He believed that if the United States refused 
to trade with Great Britain, the merchants of that country, 
unable to sell their goods in America, would compel Par- 
liament to change its policy towards neutral commerce. 
Moreover, Great Britain would be shut off from cotton 
and other raw materials, for which the manufacturers had 
been very largely dependent upon the United States. 

One of these measures, known as the Embargo Act, 
forbade all vessels to sail from American ports for Europe 
until the rights of neutrals should be recognized. Imme- 
diately, a storm of protest went up from all the shipping 

15 



226 ERA OF JEFFERSONIAN DEMOCRACY 

interests of the country. The Southern planters could not 

sell their cotton ; and the merchants of the seaports, with 

all those dependent upon them, were shut out of 

Embargo their means of livelihood. Feeling in Federalist 

Act 

New Eng-land was so aroused that there was open 
defiance of the act. Merchants began to evade it, just as 
their fathers had evaded the navigation acts of the British 
Parliament. When a bill was passed by Congress to 
enforce the embargo, the legislatures of Massachusetts 
and Connecticut declared that the act was unconstitutional 
and that its provisions should not be obeyed. In the face, 
therefore, of acts of nullification and further threats of 
secession, Congress felt compelled to give up the embargo, 
although a general non-intercourse policy with France 
and Great Britain was recommended. 

At this time, Jefferson, having approached the end of his 
second term, declined to be a candidate for a third time.^ James 
Madison, of Virginia, and George CUnton, of New York, the 
Election of Democratic-Republican candidates, carried, with the 
James Madison exception of Delaware, all the States south and west 
of New England. The Federalists again swept New England, 
and, in that region, dissatisfaction with the policies of the gov- 
ernment found expression in bitter denunciation of the party 
in power. 

Like Jefferson, Madison exerted himself in the effort 
to keep the American people out of the European war. 
Both belligerents, however, continued to violate the neu- 
tral rights of the United States; but Napoleon issued a 
proclamation stating his purpose to revoke his decree 
against neutral commerce. Congress then suspended the 

* Washington had expressed his ardent desire to return to private life; 
Jefferson proclaimed a principle that no President should accept a nomina- 
tion for a third term. 



NAVAL CONFLICTS 



227 



non-intercourse act with regard to France ; but, when con- 
siderable American shipping was within his reach, Napo- 
leon dishonorably issued orders to seize it. 

On the other hand. Great Britain had continued to im- 
press American sailors, and, in 1807, the British frigate 
Leopard fired on the American frigate Chesapeake, alleg- 
ing that the Chesapeake was witliliolding British subjects. 
The Chesapeake was unprepared for battle and ^^^^^ 
was obliged to yield to the demands of the com- conflicts 
mander of the Leopard. The American government 
protested against the outrage, but public opinion was 
divided. Some of the Federalists, 
inclined to favor Great Britian as a 
possible refuge from the alleged op- 
pressions of their own government, 
upheld the actions of the Leopard. 
The British government finally 
agreed to offer some reparation; but 
when, in 1811, the British minister 
arrived in America to make apology, 
an event had happened which, in a 
measure, served to avenge the assault 
upon the Chesapeake. 

Ever since the attack on the Ches- 
apeake, the officers and men of the 
few United States frigates were 
anxious to try conclusions with the 
British; so when the frigate President signalled the 
British corvette Little Belt and received a shot in return, 
the American vessel lost no time in coming to action. 
The Little Belt was a smaller vessel, but fought courage- 
ously and lost 32 of its crew before it was compelled to 




JAMES MADISON 

Bornin \'irgiiii-a, March 
16, 1751 ; delegate to Conti- 
nental Congress, 1780-'84; 
member Constitutional 
Convention ; as a prominent 
framer of the new form of 
government, called "father 
of the Constitution"; Secre- 
tary of State under Jeffer- 
son; President, 1809-'17o 
Died June 28, 1836. 



228 ERA OF JEFFERSONIAN DEMOCRACY 

surrender. The President was little damaged, and 
reported but two wounded."^ 

A '^war party" of younger men had now arisen in the 

Democratic-Republican majority in Congress. The leader 

of these was Henry Clav, of Kentucky, who made 

War ^ ^ 7 .'7 

Declared impassioned appeals for aggressive measures 
against the overbearing conduct of foreign nations. 
When, therefore, Congress had heard Madison's message 
in June, 1812, reviewing British conduct towards United 
States commerce, war was declared against Great Britain.'* 

Henry Clay, possibly having in mind the expedition of George 
Rogers Clark, had extravagantly boasted that Kentucky militia 
alone could con([uer Canada, but neither the war party nor the 
administration realized how poorly the country was prepared 

^During 1811 the Indians had been actively hostile in the northwest. 
Gen-eral William H. Harrison was sent against them, and in Xovember de- 
feated them at Tippecanoe Creek in the Indiana Territory. It ww^ widely 
believed that the British (or the Canadians) either had instigated the In- 
dians to attack the settlers or had aided them in preparing for w^ar. (See 
reference to the Tories exiled in Canada, page 182.) 

^ A moment's tliought makes it seem strange to find the American 
Republic, as the land of liberty, at war by the side of the most pow^erful 
autocrat of the nineteenth century against the one nation which stood be- 
tween this autocrat and the domination of the world. If American opposi- 
tion to Great Britain had caused that power to lose its struggle with 
Napoleon, the result must have been a calamity to the cause of popular 
government everywhere. The overbearing pride of certain British naval 
officers and the obstinate stupidity of a few officials first caused Great 
Britain to be put in a position false to the true sentiment of its people and 
thereby brought on war with the Americans. It must be added, in fairness 
to the British officials, that in the need for manpower against the " Con- 
queror of Europe," Great Britain was righteously aggrieved at the custom 
of Americans to offer every inducement to the British sailors to desert, 
even to the extent of procuring for them fraudulent papers of American 
citizenship. Great Britain then maintained, in common with all the Old 
World powers, that once a man became a citizen of a country he was always 
a citizen of that country. From the first, America, the home of the immi- 
grant, had declared for the right of a citizen to change his allegiance. 



NAVAL SUCCESSES 229 

for conflict. The regular avmy consisted of bu.t 7000 men, and 
the navy was absurdly small as compared with the mighty naval 
force of Great Britain. Yet this small navy was destined to 
accomplish a great deal, while the army was to meet with many 
reverses before any pronounced success was achieved. 

First of all, a difficulty arose from the fact that the declara- 
tion of war had been carried by western and southern votes. 
New England opposed it on the ground that it was unnecessary 
and that it would bring ruin upon the industries of 
the east. The opposition was so pronounced that Attitude of 
flags were placed at half mast, bells were tolled, and ^^ "^ ^" 
town meetings were called to denounce ''Mr. Madison's war," 
as it was called. Moreover, the governors of several of the New 
England States were sustained by local courts and councils in 
refusing to obey the Federal call for militia. 

Added to this pronounced disaffection in one part of the 
country came early news of militar}- reverses. In August, Gen- 
eral William Hull, after a fruitless advance into Canada, re- 
treated to Detroit, and, without firing a gun, surrendered his 
army to a superior force of British and Indians. More- Military 
over, the next two attempts at the invasion of Canada Reverses 
met with failure. General Van Rensselaer succeeded in crossing 
the Niagara River with a part of his army, but the rest of the 
militia refused to march into foreign territory. His force on the 
Canadian side Avas captured near Queenstown after a short en- 
gagement, in which Lieutenant-Colonel Winfield Scott won com- 
mendation for bravery. General Brock, the British commander, 
fresh from the capture of Detroit, was mortally wounded. Gen- 
eral Henry Dearborn, in command of an army on Lake Champ- 
lain, was unable to accomplish anj^thing because the militia 
refused to press hostilities. In the northwest General Winchester 
was defeated with the loss of his entire force of 900 men. 

Upon the sea, American success far exceeded expectations. 
On the 19th of August, the frigate Constitution, Captain Isaac 
Hull in command, defeated and destroyed the British frigate 
Guerriere off the coast of Nova Scotia. The accurate and ^avai 
overwhelming fire of the Constitution, together with successes 
Hull 's admirable management, rendered the Guerriere almost a 



230 ERA OF JEFFERSONIAN DEMOCRACY 

• total wreck in less than a lialf-lionr of ii^btin^. Hnll delivered 
his prisoners at Boston, and the command of the Constitution was 
turned over to Captain Bainbridge, w'ho, off the coast of Brazil, 
defeated and destroyed the British frigate, Java, after a desperate 
engagement of two hours' duration. In the course of the battle 
Captain Bainbridge was twice wounded ; but the American loss 
w^as small The year 1812 also saw smaller engagements on the 
sea and the beginning of highly successful privateering against 
British commerce. 

The presidential elections of 1812 resulted in the reelection of 
Madison with Elbridge Gerry as Vice-President. The Federal- 
Madison ^^^^ ^^^^^ dissatisfied Republicans supported DeWitt 
Re-elected Clinton, of New York, and Jared Ingersoll, 
of Pennsylvania. 

The naval combats of 1812 had been deeply humiliating to 
the British, who had captured hundreds of vessels in the recent 
wars with France with a loss of fcAver ships than they had al- 
ready lost to the half-dozen American sloops and frigates. In 
June, 1813, however, the British frigate Shannon defeated 
Success the Chesapeake, commanded by Captain James Lawrence. 
The engagement took place outside of Boston harbor. 
The Shannon was well handled and its fire w^as accurate and 
terrible In fifteen minutes the American frigate was riddled 
and helpless and her commander mortally wounded. With 
Lawrence's dying appeal, ''Don't give up the ship," as the 
motto, Captain Oliver H. Perry equipped a small fleet for the 
]3urpose of wresting from the British the control, of Lake Erie. 
A naval engagement followed on September 10th, w^hich Perry's 
flagship, the Lawrence, began by drawing the fire of the two 
heaviest British ships until the Lawrence was shot to pieces and 
four-fifths of the crew^ killed or wounded; but Perry, carrying 
his flag with him, transferred himself in a small boat to the decks 
of the Niagara and at once brought his« remaining vessels into 
close action, in which he finally defeated and captured the 
British fleet. 

Perry wrote briefly' to General Harrison, "We have met the 
enemv and thev are ours." Harrison was now^ enabled to ad- 



CONFLICT WITH THE INDIANS 



231 



vance upon the British land forces and their Indian allies under 
General Proetor and the able chieftain, Tecumseh. conflict with 
Harrison met the British and Indians on the Thames *^^ Indians 
River in Canada, October 5, 1813. Tecumseh was killed in battle, 
his followers were scattered, and the British force was 
badly defeated. 

In the South, Tecumseh had stirred up the Creek Indians 
in the Mississippi Territory. At Fort Mims, Alabama, four 
hundred men, women, and children were attacked by the Indians 







Commodore Oliver H. Perry on ijake Eric, September 10, 1813. Although 
Perry was forced to abandon his flagship, he resumed fighting on another vessel, but 
only after four-fifths of his own crew had been killed or wounded. This victory did 
much to offset the failures of the United States militia on the Canadian border. 

and nearly all captured and massacred. Other settlers and 
friendly Indians made war on the Creeks, wh?le General Andrew 
Jackson, with a body of Tennessee militia, was sent against them. 
Jackson conducted the campaign with great energy and success, 
breaking* the power of the southern Indians in a battle at Horse- 
shoe Bend on the Tallapoosa River, March 27, 1814. 

Fighting* on the New York-Canadian border was carried on 
with varying- success. Raids were made and property was 
destroyed, first by one side and then by the other. On one of 



232 ERA OF JEFFERSONIAN DEMOCRACY 

these occasions, some subordinate American officers were guilty 
of burning the public buildings of Toronto. In the summer of 
Border 1814, there were several sharp engagements, resulting 
Fighting from a last attempt by the Americans to invade Canada. 
A bloody encounter occurred at Lundy's Lane, near Niagara 
Falls, in which the American commander. General Jacob Brown, 
was seriously wounded. This battle was, perhaps, the most 
stubbornly contested eng^agement of the war. The American 
loss was 743 men out of a force of 3000, while the British lost 
878 men out of a force somewhat larger. Although the British 
had been driven back at all points, the Americans were not able 
to hold their position and were forced to retire to Fort Erie. 

The United States were now in turn to be attacked from the 
north. The British selected the water route by Lake Champlain, 
and prepared to invade the States with a land force of 14,000 men 
under Sir George Prevost and a fleet of sixteen vessels on Lake 
piattsburg and Champlain under Commander Do^niie. The 
Lake Champlain American land force of about 8000 men was in- 
trenched at Piattsburg on the New York shore, while the naval 
squadron of fourteen vessels was under the command of Com- 
modore Macdonough. Both land and naval forces met in battle 
on the 11th of September. Macdonough, in the course of a 
two-hour conflict, got the better of his antagonist, captured some 
of the British fleet and dispersed the rest. This practically de- 
cided the result of the land engagement, and the British retreated 
into Canada. 

In connection with the invasion of New York from Canada 
as a land base, the British, free-handed and fresh from the first 
overthrow of Napoleon, sent a strong expedition up the Chesa- 
peake Bay. The War Department was wholly unprepared for 
Capture of ^^^^ ^^^ iuvasion aimed at the headquarters of the 
Washington jHedcral government; moreover, the general in charge 
of the defence of the Federal capital and the Chesapeake was 
weak and vacillating. Near Bladensburg, a few miles outside of 
Washington, four hundred sailors under Commodore Barney 
stoutly opposed the British advance when the ill-led land troops 
had fled ; but this small force was finally overAvhelmed and driven 
off. Barney was wounded and captured. Without meeting fur- 



''THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER' 233 

ther opposition, the British took possession of Washington and 
burned the Capitol, together with many of the public buildings 
and private dwellings. 

The British next planned to capture Baltimore, a port which 
Howe's fleet had passed by on its way to Brandywine and Phila- 
delphia in 1776. In the war of 1812, Baltimore had achieved 
especial distinction in the building of very fast light-armed sail- 
ing vessels which had swept down upon British merchantmen on 
all the routes of trade. Fresh from their easy capture of the 
Federal capital, the British commander landed 6000 troops at 
North Point, east of Baltimore. These troops, 

T .^ ii?n i-D ij British Advance 

under the command or General Koss, were to ad- Repulsed at 
vance upon the city while the fleet bombarded Fort ^^^^^^^""^ 
McHenr}^ in the harbor. General Samuel Smith, a veteran of the 
Revolution, opposed Ross with a force of about 3000 militia. The 
outposts of the armies met unexpectedly, and General Ross, riding 
ahead, was shot by skirmishers. A sharp engagement followed, in 
which some 1700 of the American force held the British until 
ordered to fall back on the entrenchments around the city. 

This encounter took place on the 12th of September, the day 
after Macdonough's victory on Lake Champlain. At Baltimore, 
as at Plattsburgh, the British army awaited the action of their 
naval forces before risking a decisive engagement. The fleet, 
therefore, began the bombardment of Fort McHenry on the 
morning of September 13th and kept it up all that night. On 
the following morning the American flag still waved above the 
fort and the British were forced to withdraw. 

This double engagement brought to an abrupt halt the British 
march upon the middle States, and is recorded in history as the 
bombardment of Fort McHenry and the repulse of North Point. 
It would have been more descriptive and comprehensive had the 
douhle engagement been called from the first the "Battle of 
Baltimore." The bombardment of Fort McHenry directly in- 
spired the writing of ''The Star-Spangled ^^^ iration of 
Banner. ' ^ It was during the long hours of that "The star-spangied 

Banner" 

night that Francis Scott Key anxiously paced 

the deck of the British ship Minden, where, under a flag of truce, 

he had gone to secure the release of a friend and family physician. 



234 ERA OF JEFFERSONIAN DEMOCRACY 

Early in the dawn of September 14tli, Key caught sight of the 
flag still fl3^ing "o'er the ramparts." His emotion found ex- 
pression in verse, and, on the back of a letter, he jotted down the 
triumphant notes of "The Star-Spangled Banner." 

For some wrecks, commissioners from the United States and 

Great Britain had been discussing terms of peace at Ghent ; but 

the Americans would not accede to the British demands, and 

agreement seemed impossible. When, however. 

Immediate Results y^ n -r^ • . • ^ \ n , . -r»i j^j^ i j 

of the, the news of British defeats at Plattsburg and 

piStsbSl-l^lnd Baltimore reached London, the British ministry 
Baltimore decided to yield the points most objectionable to 

the Americans, and a treaty was signed December 24, 1814. This 
treaty left matters pretty much as they had been before the 
war. Nothing was said about search and impressment, but the 
United States had no further difficulty with Great Britain in 
these matters. 

News traveled across the Atlantic only as fast as sailing 
vessels could carry it, and the war in America went on. Besides 
the drive from Canada and the attack directed against Washing- 
ton, Baltimore, and the central States, a third plan of the British 
Battle of was to Capture New Orleans and get possession of the 
New Orleans Louisiana territory. In December, about 8000 of 
Wellington's veterans disembarked and advanced on New Or- 
leans, under the leadership of Sir Edward Pakenham. Opposed 
to them were between five and six thousand American troops 
under the command of Andrew Jackson. Jackson displayed 
great energy and skill in arranging his men ; he well knew the 
coolness and accurate marksmanship of his Tennessee and Ken- 
tucky riflemen, and he had inspired the Louisiana militia with 
confidence to face the British regulars. When the British at- 
tacked the American entrenchments on January 8, 1815, they 
were met by rifle fire more accurate and deadly than any they 
had ever faced in Europe. Even Wellington 's A^eterans fell back 
in dismay. Pakenham himself fell, together with over two 
thousand of his men; while the Americans lost but 71 in killed 
and w^oimded. Some weeks later came the belated news of the 
treaty of Ghent, and hostilities ceased in the United States. 



ADMISSION OF LOUISIANA 



235 



When Jackson had fought his campaign against the 
Indians he had led his troops through what was known 
a few years before as ''West Florida,'^ a part Admission of 
of the Spanish possessions in North America. ^^^^^^^^^ 
In 1810, however, the inhabitants had seized the fort at 
Bfion Rouge, declared their independence, and asked for 
amieisiation to the United States. A new State, formed 




THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS 



out of this and the Orleans Territory, was called Louisiana 
and admitted to the Union in 1812. 

Great opposition to admitting Louisiana into the 
Union was expressed in the New England States (see also 
page 223). Josiah Quincy, of Massachusetts, declared, 
on the floor of Congress, that the admission of Louisiana 
dissolved the bonds of the Union, and that it was the duty. 



236 ERA OF JEFFERSONIAN DEMOCRACY 

as well as the right of some of the imperilled States to 
prepare for a separation '' amicably, if they 
conv?nYi"n'^^ caii, violeiitly, if they must." This grievance 
o?*DTilinfon ^^^^r thc Westem expansion, and the prosecu- 
tion of the war against Great Britain, together 
with the pre-war policies of the Democratic-Republican 
party, had so inflamed the discontent in New England that 
it was proposed, in addition to the measures already taken 
in opposition to the Federal government (page 229) to 
call a convention of Federalist leaders to decide on some 
definite plan for action. This convention met at Hartford, 
December 15, 1814. After some weeks of discussion car- 
ried on in secret sessions, delegates were sent to Wash- 
ington to state their grievances and demand redress. 
They arrived in the Federal capital only to hear the news 
of the treaty of peace and of the victory at New Orleans. 
Consequently, nothing came of this mission, which, had 
it come sooner, might have endangered the safety of 
the Union. 

The Federalists were now so discredited that, in the election 
of 1816, their candidate for President, Rufus King, of New 
Election of York, received the votes of but three States ; Massa- 
james Monroe chusetts, Connecticut, and Delaware. James Mon- 
roe, the Republican-Democratic candidate, received the votes of 
the remaining' sixteen States. With him was elected Daniel D. 
Tompkins, of New York, Vice-President. 

NOTES AND SIDELIGHTS 
John Marshall and the Extension of the Powers of the 
Supreme Court. — The Federalists were defeated in the executive 
and legislative departments of the government, but President 
Adams, who, at that time, honest!}^ distrusted Jefferson and the 
Democratic-Republicans, made use of his remaining time in 
office to establish Federalists in every position possible in the 



ESTABLISHING '^THE NEW ORDER" 237 

judicial department. His most important appointment was that 
of John Marshall as Chief Justice. Marshall remained at the 
head of the United States Supreme Court from 1801 to 1835, 
and, through his decisions there, accomplished much in extending 
and strengthening* the power of the Federal Government. In this 
connection, the Dartmouth College case became especially famous. 
This case was decided under Marshall in 1819, and the decision 
prevented the State of New Hampshire from modifying the pro- 
visions of a charter granted to that institution on the ground 
that the charter was a contract the obligation of which the Federal 
Constitution was designed to protect (see Article I, Section X).' 
Establishing "The New Order" in America. — The change 
from class rule to popular government, which was so pronounced 
an American characteristic, is nowhere better described than in 
the letters of Benjamin H. Latrobe, who wrote from Philadelphia 
to a friend in Italy, December 19, 1806 : "Ever since the Revolu- 
tion the internal state of the United States has been undergoing 
a regular and gradual change. That deference of rank which, 
without the existence of titles of nobility, grows out of the habits 
and prejudices of a people, was bequeathed to the Americans by 
the English mmuiers and institutions which were established be- 
fore the Revolution. These manners could not be suddenly al- 
tered, nor did the institutions of the country undergo any very 
great or sudden change. After the adoption of the Federal consti- 
tution, the extension of the right of suffrage in all the States to the 
majority of all the adult male citizens, planted a germ which had 
gradually evolved and has spread actual and practical democracy 
and political equality over the whole union. 

' ' ... There is no doubt whatsoever but that this state of 
things in our country produces the greatest sum of happiness that 
perhaps any nation ever enjoyed. Every man is independent." "^ 

^This decision paved the way for the protection under the Federal 
Courts of many large corporations which the various States, at one time or 
another, sought to control. " In the hundred years from 1803 to 1903," says 
West in his History of the American People, " the Supreme Court declared 
two hundred State laws unconstitutional. Fifty-seven of these were voided 
on the ground that they impaired the obligation of some contract." 

* From polygraph copies of the letters (unpublished. 1920) of Benjamin 
H. Latrobe. These letters were written by means of the " polygraph," a 



238 ERA OF JEFFERSONIAN J3EM0CRACY 

Alleged Conspiracy and Trial of Aaron Burr. — After his 
duel with Hamilton (page 223), Aaron Burr was in public dis- 
g-race. He then entered into treasonable conferences with the 
British minister. Later he sought to detach the Louisiana Ter- 
ritory from the United States, and therewith to set up a new 
coimtry. It is believed that he was at first encouraged by Gen- 
eral James Wilkinson, governor of the Louisiana Territory, who 
himself had intrigued with Gates against Washington in the 
Revolution. Wilkinson, however, turned against Burr in 1806 ; 
and the latter, learning that President Jefferson had ordered his 
arrest, tried to escape. He was captured and tried for treason^ 
but was acquitted, Chief Justice Marshall presiding. 

Lewis and Pike. — Meriwether Le\\ds was a true type of 
American pioneer and explorer. He had expressed a desire to 
lead such an expedition in 1792, when he was but nineteen years 
old. In 1806, an expedition under Zebulon M. Pike set out from 
St. Louis to explore the Louisiana cession. Pike's course lay 
through several of the present States of the middle West to the 
central parts of Colorado. Pike's Peak, one of the highest moun- 
tains in the Rocky Mountain range, bears his name to-day. 

Opposition in New England. — During the whole period of 
readjustment from the Federal "class" ideas of government to 
those of "Jeffersonian democracy," manj^ of the aristocratically 
inclined political leaders of New England were urging State nulli- 
fication, put in actual practice, or secession, which was seriously 
threatened on three occasions. The Union was, perhaps, in greater 
jeopardy than when the Southern States seceded a half -century 
later, for it is doubtful if the Federal Government would have had 
the power or the inclination to force the New England States 
back into the Union. The powers of evolution and the develop- 
ment of the great West had not then progressed far enough. 
Among numerous expressions of dissatisfaction two of the most 
comprehensive may be taken from the letters of Timothy Picker- 
contrivance invented by the American artist, Charles Willson Peale. The 
polygraph wrote simultaneously on two sheets of paper by m-eans of a 
double pen. Each pen had its own ink-well and sheet of writing paper. 
The " copy " retained by the writer was just like the " original," or the one 
forwarded to the person addressed. 



OPPOSITION IN NEW ENGLAND 



239 



ing, of Massachusetts, who had been Secretary of War under 
President Washington in 1795. Pickering wrote to Cabot, Janu- 
ary 29, 1804; "The principles of our Revohition point to the 
remedy — a separation. That this can be accomplished, and with- 
out spilling one drop of blood, I have little doubt. ' ' And again : 
*'If a separation should be deemed proper, the five New England 
States, New York, and New Jersey would naturally be united. 
. . . I do not know one reflecting New Englander who is not 
anxious for the Oreat Event at which T have glanced." (Letter 
toKing, March 4, 1804.) 

Eka of Jeffejisonian Democracy 
period ii. from monroe to jackson 
The history of this period con- 
cerns itself with (1) the war debt of 
the Federal government and the 
means of meeting it; (2) a vastly in- 
creased tide of immigration, rising 
from abont 4000 in 1811 to 22,000 in 
1817; (3) the recent impoverishment 
of Southern planters, who, during the 
period of the war, had had no world- 
market for their crops and could 
offer no other industry in place of 
agriculture; (4) the rise in the North- 
east of manufacturing industries 
which had begun to take the place of 
the commerce and shipping of pre- 
vious years; (5) the beginning of the 
tariff dispute on sectional lines; 
(6) the increasing sectional irritation 
caused by slavery and the part the 
agitation against it played in political 
and economic affairs; (7) the de- 




JAMES MONROE 

Born Westmoreland 
Co., Va., Apr. 28, 1758. 
Served in Co ntinental 
army during Revolution, 
rising to rank as staff of- 
ficer; wounded at Trenton; 
member Congress of Con- 
federation; with Pa-irick 
Henry, opposed central- 
izing features of Federal 
Constitution; elected U. S. 
senator, 1790; minister to 
France, 1794-1796; Gover- 
nor Virginia, 1799-1802; 
commissioner to Franca 
(1803) with reference to 
Louisiana Purchase; min- 
ister to Great Britain; 
Secretary of state and 
later of war under Madi- 
son; succeeded Madison as 
President, 1817-1825; pro- 
claimed "Monroe Doc- 
trine" during second term. 
Died July 4, 1831. 



240 ERA OF JEFFERSONIAN DEMOCRACY 

velopment of the West through steamboat navigation 
of the inhmd rivers and the construction of roads 
and waterways; and (8) the proclamation of the 
' ' Monroe Doctrine. ' ^ 

A new national bank was created in 1816. This bank, 

like the one established by Hamilton and discontinued in 

1811, was chartered for a period of twenty years, and it 

was intended to help stabilize the finances of the country. 

Another Hamiltonian policy taken up by 

A National Bank i i t-» it a i • nc i* 

and National tiie Kcpublican partv was a tarili tor 

Roads and Waterways ./• n "^ii 'ii ;!• 

protection; and, coupled with this 
scheme, bills were passed through Congress appropriat- 
ing large sums of money for improving the navigation of 
rivers and for building roads and canals, although these 
bills were vetoed by President Madison. All three of 
these policies, originally opposed by the Democratic-Re- 
publican party, were, temporarily, at least, advocated 
by it.^ 

This adoption of centralizing policies by the Democratic- 
Republican leaders, after the War of 1812, seemed necessary for 
reconstruction. It was intended that the tariff should be a tem- 
porary expediency to placate the Northeastern interests. The 
embargo, the non-intercourse acts, and the war itself had proved 
most effective in '^ protecting" American manufactures, since it 

had almost wholly prevented competition from 
Manufacturing abroad. A large number of manufactures of all 

kinds had sprung up, and, immediately upon the 
declaration of peace, the manufacturers importuned Congress 
for tariff legislation avowedly based on the principle of protec- 

^ It was the continuance of them after the payment of the war debt and 
after the establishment of American industries which led to a sharp divi- 
sion of opinion, until opposition to a high protective tariff finally became a 
leading principle of the Democratic party. 



IMPORTANCE OF THE TARIFF ISSUE 241 

tioii. This appeal came wholly from the northern States where 
the manufactures were located, but the representatives of the 
South felt thai in the midst of their political success they could 
afford to be liberal in supporting this governmental assistance, 
at least until the manufacturing interests were well established, 
a course which seemed likely to gain for them new adherents to 
the party, even though the policy proposed was at the expense 
of the agricultural communities they represented. 

John C. Calhoun, of South Carolina, who later became the 
most prominent opponent of the protective tariff, was in 1816 the 
leading supporter of the proposed import duties. Daniel Web- 
ster, of Massachusetts, who subsequently advocated much higher 
tariffs, was at this time strongly opposed to the tariff as a 
measure likely to prevent the revival of the shipping interests 
of New England, which he then hoped to see restored to their 
former vigor and preeminence. 

In a sense, therefore, the debate over the protective 
tariff of 1816 represented a struggle in the northeastern 
States between the shipping interests and the manufactur- 
ing interests. The triumph of the latter was ultimately 
to result in largely driving the American flag off the trade 
routes of the world, because the protective tariff 
cut down imports from foreign countries. The lT\he^^^^ 
debate represented, also, a conflict between the 
interests of the consumer and the interests of the manu- 
facturer throughout the entire country, but, as manufac- 
turing had not developed in the southern States, the 
question of tariffs became a fruitful cause of the sectional 
differences that finally produced fratricidal strife. From 
this time for half a century, or to the close of the War 
of Secession, there was to be no. real rest in the conflict 
of sectional interests; viz., the agricultural interests of 
the South and the steadily expanding manufacturing in- 

16 



242 ERA OF JEFFERSONIAN DEMOCRACY 

terests of the North. This commercial conflict lies at the 
foundation of all other sectional differences, such as the 
continuous struggle for the control of new territory as 
"slave States'' or "free soil," the nullification issue in 
South Carolina in 1831, and actual secession thirty years 
later on the part of the lower South. 

In 1816, Indiana was admitted to the Union as the nineteenth 
State, an event closely followed by the admission of Mississippi 
the followino; year. Steamboats now began to appear on the 
Ohio, the Mississippi, and the Great Lakes. The Great National 
Pike was being constructed to connect the West with the East 
through Cumberland and Wheeling". Other roads were 
of^^oadT^^ also projected, as in Georgia. In New York, Governor 
and Travel j^^^j^^ Cllnton was pushing forward the construction 
of the Erie Canal ("Clinton's Big Ditch'^) from the Hudson 
River to Lake Erie, a distance of 360 miles. It was considered 
wonderful that, by using relays of horses moving at a trot, light 
packet boats could carry passengers across the State in three and 
a half days. Travel b}^ stage-coach was improving, and a trip 
from Boston to Charleston could, under favorable conditions, be 
made in less than two weeks. Post-offices had increased from a 
few score to several hundred ; but postage was still very expensive, 
and varied according to distance. 

At this time, or from 1816 to 1820, there was comparatively 
little political excitement disturbing the countrj^ The Federalist 
part}^ had almost passed out of existence, and there was no organ- 
ized opposition to the party in power, although minor differences 
s ecuiation ^^^sc withiu its owu rauks. The decrease in political 
and Panic agitation and the increase in internal trade and com- 
merce induced reckless speculation. The new United States 
Bank was badly managed from 1816 to 1818, and it was possible, 
under the lax laws of those times, for a great number of State 
banks to be chartered with permission to issue more notes than 
the}'' could redeem in coin or legal tender. Far-sighted men saw 
the inevitable result, but could not prevent it ; hence, in 1819, 
an era of ' ' good times ' ' ended with general distress and suffering. 



PURCHASE OF FLORIDA, 1821 243 

During Monroe 's first term, a dangerous complication 
arose with Spain, due to the fact that constant incursions 
were being made into the southern States from her terri- 
tory in Florida. These incursions were carried on by the 
Seminole Indians, aided, in some instances, by mnaway 
slaves ; but the marauders were protected in Spanish ter- 
ritory, and it was believed, encouraged or aided by Span- 
ish, settlers. In 1818, the United States government sent 
General Andrew Jackson to the southern 

, , , ... T -i- , -. Andrew Jackson 

boundary to maintain order. Jackson, how- invades 

. , . Spanish Florida 

ever, was not content with any course short 
of an invasion of Florida and the complete subjugation 
of the Indian trouble-makers. He therefore marched his 
troops into Spanish territory, and after the Indians had 
eluded him for a time in the southern swamps, seized 
the Spanish towns of St. Marks and Pensacola and ejected 
their Spanish garrisons. Further than this, in disregard 
of the principles of international law, he executed two 
British subjects for alleged participation in the Indian 
war. Jackson finally subdued the Seminoles^ but in his 
high-handed actions with the Spanish and the execution of 
the accused British subjects, Arbuthnot and Ambrister, 
he placed the United States in an embarrassing position. 
Jackson declared that the United States government 
had led him to believe that his seizure of Florida would be 
favorably regarded. The government officials denied any 
such implication; but the majority of the Representatives 
in Congress were either afraid or reluctant to purchase of 
rebuke the powerful and popular ^^hero of New ^i°"^^' ^^^i 
Orleans, ' ' and the Administration had to deal with Great 
. Britain and Spain as best it could. Although the United 
States was prepared to make restitution to Spain, the 



244 ERA OF JEFFERSONIAN DEMOCRACY 

Spanish government felt that it could never feel secure 
in the possession of the Florida territory. In 1821, there- 
fore, a treaty was consummated by the terms of which 
Spain agreed to sell Florida to the United States 
for $5,000,000. 

In 1818 a treaty was arranged with Great Britain 
which provided for the settlement of a part of the north- 
western boundary of the United States. The dividing line 
was to be the forty-ninth parallel from the Lake of the 
..,. Woods on the northern boundary of Minne- 

Agreement with "^ 

Great Britain g^^^ ^q ^j^g Rocky Mouutaius. The line west 
of the mountains was, however, to be decided later, as 
both countries claimed the Oregon territory. It was pro- 
vided, therefore, that settlers of both nations might 
occupy the disputed territory for a period of ten years. 
Such a settlement postponed difficulties which became 
acute a few years later. 

Foreigii complications with Spain and Great Britain 
were thus settled amicably, but in 1820 there broke out a 
menace of domestic discord and sectional animosities, 
which the aged Jefferson said sounded as dreadful as ^Ui 
fire-hell in the night." "We have seen how the northern 
and southern States had become different as to pursuits, 
customs, and habits of living. Primarily, cli- 
mffwenJes Hiatic couditions were different, but one great 
B^a^iance causc of differentiation was slavery ; moreover, 
of Power these differences became more marked as the 
North developed its manufacturing and commercial mter- 
ests, and as the raising of cotton became the chief industry 
of the South. Opposing political and economic interests 
were now to be drawn on sectional lines as they never had 
been drawn before. In 1817 there were twenty States 



THE '^MISSOURI COMPROMISE" 245 

in the Federal Union, ten of which were north and ten 
south of Mason and Dixon's Line. In the more populous 
and powerful of the northern States, the manufacturing 
and trade interests were dominant. Here slave labor had 
almost disappeared, a fact that encouraged European 
immigration and commercial development. The remain- 
ing ten States south of the line were given over almost 
wholly to agricultural pursuits, maintained largely by 
negro slave labor. On account of this divergence of sec- 
tional interests, and because of sectional demands arising 
therefrom for free trade on one side and protective tariffs 
on the other, a struggle for the control of new territory 
arose that resembled the rivalry and mutual jealousies 
of nations. Henceforth, new States must come into the 
Union in pairs, one to be admitted on one economic basis, 
the other on a footing of opposing interests. This sec- 
tional balancing was clearly recognized in the admission 
of Indiana and Mississippi, and the policy was extended 
when Illinois was admitted into the Union in 1818 and 
Alabama in 1819. 

In February, 1819, the question came up as to the 
status of the States formed out of the Louisiana purchase ; 
for Missouri was knocking for admission into the Union 
as a slave labor State. At once a struggle began for politi- 
cal control of Missouri and the whole of the Louisiana 
purchase. The North sought to increase its power by 
admitting Missouri as a *^free" State, while the South 
insisted that the territory be admitted into the Union 
in the way it desired admission, as a ^' slave'' 

. . The 

State. In the midst of the dispute, however, "Missouri 

. .. PTi/r Compromise" 

Mame had secured the permission oi Massa- 
chusetts to separate from the latter State. She was seek- 



246 ERA OF JEFFERSONIAN DEMOCRACY 

ing admission into the Union as a ^4*ree" State. Both 
sides finally agreed to a compromise. Missouri and 
Maine were to be paired to preserve the balance of power 
between tlie sections, but slave labor was to be prohibited 
in the rest of the Louisiana territory north of the parallel 
36° 30', the southern boundary of Missouri. No provision 
ivas made for the future of the territory south of that line. 

In order to acquire new territory in the name of the United 
States, the South and the West had united against the North 
and the East (page 223), and the former had been successful. 
This success led naturally to a southern and western domination 
of the Federal government for the first half of the nineteenth 
century; but the southern half of this dominating political 
influence was weakened when and wherever it involved the ques- 
tion of the western extension of slavery. When, therefore, the 
South sought equal rights for its citizens in the territorial acqui- 
sitions, the North, in conjunction wdth the Northwest, secured 
the better of the Missouri compromise and all others. The slave- 
holder (and freetrader) was steadily losing ground, for he was 
supporting a constantly losing economic issue. The slaveholder 
had voluntarily excluded himself from the Northwest Territory 
hy the Ordinance of 1787. In the Missouri compromise, he agreed 
to exclude himself from the greater portion of the Louisiana pur- 
chase, while the rest was left in doubt. ^^ 



"The difficulty was not yet fully adjusted; for, at that time, in the 
west and northwest, there was a strong prejudice against the free negro. 
Consequently, when Missouri applied for admission in 1821, it was found 
that a clause of its constitution prohibited the immigration of free negro-eg 
into the State. As the free negroes had in some States become citizens of 
those States, they were, by the United States Constitution, " entitled to all 
the privileges and immunities of citizens " in every State. Weeks of angry 
debate ensued, and there was talk in Congress of war or disunion. Henry 
Clay, however, was instrumental in persuading Missouri practically to give 
up its objectionable clause, and Missouri entered the Union as the twenty- 
fourth State. 



CONDITIONS IN EUROPE, 1815-1823 247 

In 1820 there was no opposition to Monroe as the 
Presidential candidate of the Democratic-Re- ^g.^iection of 
publican party. One elector, however, Toted ^^^^^ Monroe 
for John Quincy Aaams, solely to prevent a unanimous 
vote, an honor he wished Washington alone to have. 

Origin of the Monroe Doctrine 

During the latter half of the sixteenth century, when Raleigh 
was attempting English colonization in America (page 30). 
Philip II of Spain dreamed of the day when all the world would 
be under the control of absolute autocrats. In the sev- ^jjg Dream 
enteenth century, Louis XIA^ of France became the ^^ Philip ii 
dominant autocrat of Europe. He died and France fell as Spain 
had done after the death of Philip II. Another hundred years 
passed and Napoleon, in the guise of liberator, rebuilt the 
French Empire. Louis XFV and Napoleon, however, sought to 
build up a single great autocracy at the expense of the rest. 

It was after the restoration of these autocrats in 1815 that 
the dream, of Philip II came nearer to coming true than ever 
before. At this time, the Russian Czar, the Prussian King, the 
Austrian Emperor, and eventuall}^ the French King, entered 
into an agreement called by them the ''Holy Alli- 
ance." This ''Holy Alliance" was, hy its comhined in Europe, 
strength, determined to stamp out popidar Wbertij 
everywhere. The armies of Russia were called upon to suppress 
the freedom of the people of Poland ; the armies of Austria were 
commanded to beat back a rising tide of democracy in Italy ; and 
the people of once-republican France were forced to put down a 
spirit of revolt against "divine rule" in Spain. In Europe, 
autocracy was overwhelmingl}^ triumphant. Even republican 
Switzerland had, for a time, succumbed to the apparenth" irre- 
sistible forces of reaction. There were, nevertheless, in the 
minds of the members of the "Holy Alliance," three sources 
of disquietude. 

During the European upheaval which had resulted in the 
downfall of Napoleon, the colonies of Spain in South America 
had broken from the control of the mother country, and had 



248 ERA OF JEFFERSONIAN DEMOCRACY 

established their own forms of government. It was, therefore, 
proposed by Czar Alexander of Russia, King Fred- 
European"^ erick William of Prussia, and Emperor Francis of 
u^on^America -^^^^tria that ''in accordance with the Gospel of 
Jesus Christ," they should unite in helping Ferdi- 
nand VII recover his lost possessions. With democracy ruth- 
lessly crushed in continental Europe by 1823, it seemed a 
comparatively easy matter to send an irresistible force across 
the seas and restore ''divine rulership" over the weak and ill- 
prepared republics of South America. 

But the second cause for alarm lay at their own doors. 

Alexander, Frederick William, and Francis had not conferred 

with the King of England, for the British king, George IV, 

was obliged to consult the free representatives of at least some 

proportion of his people before war was declared 

Great Britain 7, • ^ ^^ ^ r^ j. 

and the lor any purpose against any other people. Great 

y lance gj^-i^^ii^ ]^ad previously joined forces with the 
continental rulers to preserve herself and to overthrow the all- 
threatening autocracy of Napoleon; but the "Holy Alliance" 
could not expect her free people to help overthrow the freedom 
of others. Indeed, Alexander, Frederick William, Francis, 
Louis, and Ferdinand held that Great Britain was ver^^ little 
better than a much-detested republic. These rulers felt that 
it was most unfortunate to have so many of the principles of 
democracy established so near at hand; but if the British did 
not interfere, the South American plans of the ' ' Holy Alliance ' ' 
could be carried out. 

A third source of misgiving lay in the apparently successful 
establishment of democracy in the United States. Except, how- 
ever, for the disturbing example the North American Republic 
had set to the plain people of their own countries, the influence 
of the United States was considered negligible, 
and th? ^ ^ Besides, argued these autocrats of the ' ' Holy 
"Holy Alliance" Alliance," America and Great Britain had just 
emerged from the second armed conflict of the past half century. 
They further observed, with especial satisfaction, that the Amer- 
ican people, who held the power and swayed their government, 
appeared to dislike the British people and goverinnent above any 



UNITED STATES AND " THE HOLY ALLIANCE " 249 

other people and g-ovenunent on earth. Therefore, the auto- 
crats of the "Holy Alliance" and their advisers did not even 
consider the possibility of these two apparently hostile peoples 
making- common cause against their private designs. 

There stood out, however, in irreconcilable conflict against 
Philip II 's dream of world autocracy an obstacle which may be 
described as Thomas Jefferson's dream of the vjorld-progress of 
popular government — a dream which may have come to him from 
Sir EdAvin Sandj^s. On the other hand, in 1823, with European 
autocracy united, powerful, and aggressive, American democracy 
was seriously threatened at its very origin. But the unex- 
pected happened. The plans of the partners in the ''Hol.y 
Alliance" were openly denounced by the representatives of 
the British people; and Great Britain proposed to President 
Monroe, through George Canning, Secretary for Foreign 
Affairs, an alliance with the United States in order to pre- 
serve the independence of the menaced republics of the New 
World. To those on the European side of the Atlantic, there 
then appeared what must have seemed to them the astound- 
ing spectacle of the "rebel" Founders of the new republic, 
and presumably, therefore, the bitterest enemies of tlie British 
Government, rejoice in the prospect of such an alliance. Botli 
Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence, 
and James Madison, the father of the Constitution, united in 
endorsing this British suggestion. Madison wrote to President 
Monroe that such cooperation with Great Britain "must ensure 
success in the event of an appeal to force" on the part of the 
"Holy Alliance," and that "it doubles the chance of success 
without that appeal. ' ' With a vision looking far beyond his- 
torical disagreements or provincial prejudices, Jefferson for- 
warded to Monroe an opinion from which the following quota- 
tion is taken : ' ^ America, North and South, has a set of interests 
distinct from those of Europe, and peculiarly her own. She 
should, therefore, have a system of her own, separate and apart 
from that of Europe. While the last is laboring to become 
the domicile of despotism, our endeavor should surely be to make 
our hemisphere that of freedom. One nation, most of all. could 
disturb us in this pursuit. She now offers to lead, aid, and 



250 ERA OF JEFFERSONIAN DEMOCRACY 

accompany us in it. By acceding- to her proposition, we detach 
her from the band of despots, bring her mighty weight into the 
scale of free government and emancipate at one stroke a whole 
continent, which might otherwise linger long in doubt 
and difficulty." 

In spite, however, of the endorsement of Jefferson and 
Madison, the proposed alliance was not effected in the 
way proposed. The designs of Alexander, Frederick 
William, Francis, and Ferdinand were instead 
Doctrine"'^"^ daslicd to pieces by the promulgation of the 
Monroe Doctrine with the official approval and 
support of Great Britain, which support gave the Ameri- 
can Doctrine weight with the courts of Europe. The gist 
of this Doctrine, as laid down by President Monroe in his 
message to Congress in 1823, is : That any attempt by 
European governments to conquer or interfere with any 
independent American government would not be regarded 
with favor by the United States ; and that the American 
continents were not open to further colonization by 
European powers. 

Debates on the tariff rates occupied the attention of 
Congress during Monroe's second term; and these ques- 
tions, together with the further agitation of the policy of 
internal improvements, were destined to split and defeat 
the Democratic-Republican party. In the matter of the 
tariff, the manufacturing interests brought continuous 

and powerful pressure to bear upon Congress- 
increases in , ^ _ 

Tariff Rates: nicu to make tlic protective tariffs of 1816 still 

a Sectional ^ 

^^^"^ higher and to extend them to other industries, 

such as Kentucky hemp, Ohio wool, and Missouri lead. 
By reason of a union of these interests with the manu- 
facturers of the East, under the leadership of Henry Clay, 



ELECTION OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 251 

the low tariff or free trade advocates were outvoted in 
Congress, so that the protective principle was further 
extended. The tariff l:^ad now" become more clearly than 
ever a sectional issue, for the people of the southern agri- 
cultural States received no better prices for their crops 
than before, while it greatly increased the cost of what 
they bought. Consequently, the southern States were 
solidly opposed to a tariff for protection. 

The close of Monroe's administration was marked by the 
joyous welcome accorded Lafayette on the occasion of his final 
visit to the republic which he had so ably aided in its struggle 
for independence nearly half a century before. He visit of 
visited the tomb of Washington at Mount Vernon, where i-afayette 
later was placed the key of the Bastille, the famous state prison 
of France, destroyed at the beginning of the French Revolution. 
From Boston in the North to Savannah in the South and Nash- 
ville in the West, Lafayette received a welcome given no other 
citizen of a foreign country before or since. Congress voted him 
$200,000 and a township of land.^^ 

In 1820 there had been but one candidate put forward for 
the Presidency. In 1824 there were four, all of whom pro- 
fessed to belong to the same party and to stand for the same 
general principles. These candidates were : Election of 
John Quincy Adams, of Massachusetts, William J°^^ ^"^^^^ ^^^""^ 
H. Crawford, of Georgia ; Henry Clay, of Kentucky, and Andrew 
Jackson, of Tennessee. Jackson received 99 electoral votes, 
Adams, 84 ; Crawford, 41 ; and Clay, 37. As the Constitution 
required a majority of the votes cast for election, the choice 
between the three securing the largest vote was thro\\^l into the 

" At Charleston he was welcomed by Colonel Francis Kinloch Huger, 
whose father had been the first to greet Lafayette when he ran the British 
blockade in the summer of 1777. The meeting is of further interest for the 
reason that Colonel Huger had helped Lafayette to escape from an Austrian 
prison. Lafayette was recaptured and the gallant American was himself 
put into confinement in the same dismal fortress prison. See page 128 for 
Lafayette's ride from Charleston to Philadelphia in the summer of 1777. 



252 



ERA OF JEFFERSONIAN DEMOCRACY 



Beginnings of 
the Split 
in the 
Democratic Party 



House of Representatives. Here Clay exerted his influence in 
favor of Adams, who was accordingly elected. 

One of the first acts of President Adams was to appoint 
Henry Clay Secretary of State. As it was due to Clay's 
influence in Congress that Adams was elected, the fol- 
lowers of Jackson raised a loud cry of "bargain and cor- 
ruption," a cry that had no foundation in 
fact, but which greatly influenced the opin- 
ions of thousands of people, and of General 
Jackson and his friends in particular. It was natural 
for Adams to select Clay for what was regarded as the 

most important office in the Pres- 
ident's Cabinet, because Clay was 
most in accord with the views of the 
President; but bitter party con- 
troversy arose, which served greatly 
to increase the differences between 
the supporters of President Adams 
and those of General Jackson. 




JOHN QTJINCY ADAMS 

Born Braintree, Mass., 
July 11, 1767. Educated 
abroad and at Harvard; 
minister to Holland, 1794; 
elected to United States 
Senate, 1802; supported 
measures aimed at Great 
Britain prior to war of 
1812; minister to Russia, 
1809, and Great Britain, 
1815; United States com- 
missioner at Treaty of 
Ghent; played important 
part as Secretary of State 
under Monroe; succeeded 
latter as President, 1825- 
1829; elected to Congress 
on Anti-Masonic ticket in 
1831, but was continued in 
House until his death; op- 
posed "gag rule" and up- 
held right of petition in 
Congress. Died 1848. 



In both men there were great virtues 
and also notable weaknesses. President 
Adams had rendered valnable service to 
the country, especially in comiection with 
its forei^ affairs. In his relations with 
his countrymen, however, he was unfor- 
tunatej and, in the public mind, his good 
qualities and force of character were ob- 
scured by his coldness of manner and dis- 
position, which, his opponents declared, 
indicated a lack of sympathy with the 
masses of the people. This accusation 
was probably unjust; he was, however, 
quite out of touch with the democracy of 



FEDERAL GOVERNMENT VS. GEORGIA 



253 




the ''New West," which was then reacting on the east and 
calling- for universal manhood suffrage. He was inclined to 
the old Federalist view in opposition to 
such a spirit. Jackson, on the other hand, 
was contrasted w^ith the President as a 
man "straight from the ranks of the 
people," who had made his own way in 
life without the advantages of inherited 
position. This contrast was cleverly ex- 
ploited by the campaign managers of 
General Jackson, and it greatly increased 
the natural popularity of their especial 
hero of British and Indian wars. The 
people admired the uncompromising fight- 
ing spirit of the man, and they felt that 
Congress had wronged him and them in 
setting aside his popular plurality in 
favor of Adams. 

An incident of importance during the 

j administration of John Quincy Adams 
was the dispute between the Federal gov- 
ernment and the State of Georgia with 

! regard to the Creek Indian lands in that 
State. In 1825 Federal commissioners 
arranged with the Creeks a treaty by the 

j terms of which the tribe was to give up its lands in Georgia to 
that State in return for Federal land bevond the 
Mississippi. Some of the Indian chiefs refused to Government 
abide by the treaty, in the signing of which they 
declared they had not been represented. The Federal govern- 
ment was inclined to uphold the claims of the Indians, and in 
1826 made a new treaty which assigned to them some of the lands 
they claimed in Georgia. The government of Georgia refused 
to acknowledge the second treaty and ordered a survey to be 
made for the general distribution of the Creek lands. When the 
Federal administration threatened to arrest or drive off the sur- 
veyors, Governor Troup replied that the State would resist by 



HENRY CLAY 

Born Hanover Co., Va., 
Apr. 12, 1777. iStudied 
law and moved to Lexing- 
ton, Ky. ; elected to Con- 
gress in 1811, he soon 
became Speaker of House 
and warmly supported war 
with Great Britain; served 
many years in United 
States Senate, where, on 
sectional issues, he became 
known as the "great com- 
promiser;" was, like Web- 
ster, unsuccessful in his 
Presidential aspirations ; 
supported protective tariff 
and favored internal im- 
provements through Fed- 
eral appropriations. Died 
1852. 



254 ERA OF JEFFERSONIAN DEMOCRACY 

force of arms. Neither Congress nor the Administration seemed 
willing to take measures to enforce the decision of the Supreme 
Court, and Georgia was able to secure a third treaty, which 
eventually transferred the Creeks beyond the Mississippi. 

On the eve of the presidential elections of 1828, the 
advocates of a high tariff in Congress succeeded in pass- 
The "Tariff ^^^^ ^ ^^^^ which again increased import 

of Abominations" dutics. This bill was so extreme in its 
provisions that is became known as the ^ ' tariff of abomi- 
nations." Some of the Jackson Democrats from the 
"West supported this bill in an effort to make Adams and 
Clay unpopular, and thereby to secure political advantage 
for themselves. 

The southern States, already arrayed in opposition 
to the protective tariff principle, were now inclined to 
resist by force, if necessary, a system of taxation, the 
burden of which fell chiefly upon them, and from which 
they derived no benefit. State legislatures, public meet- 
ings, and commercial bodies declared the protective tariff 
unconstitutional. There was talk of nullification, seces- 
sion, and even war. In South Carolina the opposition was 
most intense, and Calhoun, who had proposed the pro- 
tective tariff of 1816, now came forward as the leader 
against its extension. 

In the meantime, however, a national election w^as held, and 
as Jackson and Calhoun were elected over Adams and Richard 
Rush, of Pennsylvania, the more conservative Southern leaders 
Election of Were able to persuade the people to await the 

Andrew Jackson action of Jackson and a new Congress in the fol- 
lowing 3^ear. In this election the supporters of Adams and Rush 
called themselves '' National Republicans," most of whom joined 
the Whig party in 1836. The foUoAvers of Jackson began to be 



I THE ADAMS FAMILY IN AMERICAN HISTORY 255 

called Democrats, the successors of the Democratic-Republican 
party founded by Jefferson. ^^ 

NOTES AND SIDELIGHTS 
The Adams Family in American History. — Thomas Jeffer- 
son and John Adams died during* the Presidency of John Quincy 
Adams. Both died on the same day, July 4, 1826, the fiftieth 
anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence 
Each had reached an advanced age (see biographical sketches), 
and each died in the belief that the other survived him. It is 
said that John Adams' last words were: ''Thomas Jefferson still 
lives." At one period of the careers of these two statesmen, each 
distrusted and disliked the other; but, happily, as they grew 
older, they became good friends, and 

kept in touch with each other by corre- ^ J] yyf ^9 w» # 

spondence. John Adams, the Federal- oJ, klJ^(^^''^, 
ist, lived to see his son President of the signature john ^dams in 1814 
United States and a member of the 

party founded by Jefferson, his former political foe. This suc- 
cession represents the only instance in United States history 
where father and son achieved the distinction of election to the 
Presidency. Four generations of the Adams family attained to 
eminence in the service of the United States government: John 
Adams, 1735-1826; John Quincy Adams, 1767-1848; Charles 
Francis Adams, 1807-1886 ; Charles Francis Adams, 2nd, 
1835-1915. During the War of Secession, the first Charles 
Francis Adams distinguished himself by his ability as a diplomat 
at the Court of St. James ; his son, Charles Francis Adams, 
2nd, achieved distinction as a colonel in the Union army. At the 
close of the War of Secession he was brevetted brigadier-general, 
living thereafter to become an impartial historian of the events 
in which he himself took a prominent part. 

^^A short-lived party (1828-1836), that also largely joined with the 
Whig organization in 1836, was that of the Anti-Masons. The members 
of this' party were opposed to all secret societies; but they were espe- 
cially hostile to public men who belonged to the order of Masons. It suc- 
ceeded in splitting the dominant political parties in New York State, but 
achieved no great success in opposition to the immense popularity ot 
General Jackson. 



256 ERA OF JEFFERSONIAN DEMOCRACY 

One other family, that of the Harrisons of Virginia, has pro- 
duced two Presidents of the United States: William Henry 
Harrison, 1773-1841; and his grandson, Benjamin Harrison, 
1833-1901, who was born in Ohio. 

Thomas Jefferson — A Life of Great Achievement. — Jeffer- 
son represented the pen of the American Revolution as Washing- 
ton represented the sword. Other men might have been found 
to draw up the Declaration of Independence; but Jefferson pos- 
sessed and improved a greater number of talents than any other 
American of his day. He had, like Washington, acquired a 
country-school education; but, in the Reverend James Maury, 
the grandfather of Matthew Fontaine Maury (see page 297), he 
had an unusually able instructor. He was studious, as well as 
fond of outdoor life, and, like Washington, he was over six feet 



o 



SIGNATDRE CHARLES FRANCIS A.DAM8, 2d, 1914 

tall. But Thomas Jefferson turned his mind to many things; 
and, what is more remarkable, he excelled at almost everything 
he undertook. He became great in knowledge of human nature 
and in his ability to aid the progress of the people towards better 
things in government, in statecraft, in education, in social cus- 
toms, in science, in art, in architecture, and in many other things. 
It has been said that '^politics were never so mild" as during 
the period, immediately following the collapse of the Federalist 
party. Monroe was elected for his second term in 1820 with 
only one vote cast against him. This one elector cast his ballot 
against him, not because he was opposed to Monroe, but because 
he did not wish anyone but Washington to receive a unanimous 
vote for the Presidency. On the other hand, it may be said that 
there never was, in the history of this countrj^, a more bitter 
political fight than that waged between John Quincy Adams and 
Andrew Jackson, from 1824 to 1828. Later, there was so much 
sectional and party hatred aroused by the tariff law and the 



CHANGE OF TRADE ROUTES 



257 



slavery question that there were frequently scenes of violence 
on the floor of Congress. 

Change of Trade Routes. — At the beginning- of the nine- 
teenth century, Philadelphia and Baltimore excelled New York 
in attracting the overland trade of the West. In 1803, however, 
Gouverneur Morris suggested the construction of a canal from 
Albany westward, in order to connect New York City with Lake 
Erie by an all-water route. DeWitt Clinton seized hold of the 
idea, and, against much opposition in New York City and State, 
Avas able to begin building his "Big Ditch" in 1817. In 1825, 




TRANSPORTATION BY CANAL BOAT 



the canal, 352 miles in length, was completed. Passage time for 
freight Avas cut down one-half, or from 20 days to 10, while 
passengers were carried from one end to the other in what was 
considered the remarkably short time of three and a half days. 
Freight rates, also, were lowered from $100 to $10 and $3 a ton. 
The completion of the Erie Canal marked the beginning of 
the suprema(?y of New York City over the cities of America, and 
eventually of the world itself. Great cities sprang up along this 
man-made waterwaj^ and its natural extension through the Great 
Lakes. Some of these cities, each larger than the New York City 
of that day, are : Utica, Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo, and Toledo, 
Cleveland, Chicago, Detroit. 
17 



258 ERA OF JEFFERSONIAN DEMOCRACY 

An Unfortified Border Line. — Had Americans, after the 
close of the War of 1812, thought in terms of Old World diplo- 
macy, the border line between the United States and Canada 
would have presented two long parallel lines of fortifications, 
while the Great Lakes would have borne rival navies. Each 
countr}' would have vied with the other in the erection of forts 
and the construction of battleships. But a new world brought 
forth a new order, a new thought. While either country was 
girding itself for this armed competition and after the process 
had actually begun, certain statesmen stopped to think. The}^ 
.began to take counsel together, and foreseeing the terrible ex- 
pense that would be entailed upon the people of both countries, 
both governments agreed to disarmament. 

The result has been that for more than a hundred years the 
people of two great English-speaking nations in North America 
have faced each other on the border line of several thousand miles 
without the expenditure of a dollar on the construction of forti- 
fications on land or warships on the Lakes as a protection or 
a menace to either country. 

In Europe, on the other hand, along a border line only one- 
thirtieth as long, two nations spent, in fifty years, more than 
fifty times the amount of money that the LTnited States invested 
in securing the 895,000 square miles of territory known as the 
Louisiana Purchase. 

This contrast illustrates the difference between a continuous 
peace and a constant menace or open conflict. Such a state of 
peace as that which has existed in America was not created hy 
any decree ; nor has it been the conception of mere dreamers. 
It is due to the fact that, in Canada and in the United States, 
the ideals of the two great peoples have been the same, and the 
governments have been responsive to the will of tvvo free and 
intelligent people who have come to think of each other only in 
terms of friendship and the peaceful pursuits of trade 
and travel. 



Character of 
the New 
Administration 



CHAPTER XI 

The Jacksonian Epoch, 1829-1841; Rise of the West 

The election of Jackson in 1828 marked a political 
revolution as had the election of Jefferson in 1800. The 
Jackson victory likewise introduced a greater degree of 
democracy in the conduct of the Federal government ; for, 
with the growth of the Union and the affairs of the Fed- 
eral capital, the original Jefferson simplicity had, in some 
measure, begun to wane. With the new democracy came, 
however, a partisan administration 

and decreased efficiency 

in public service. These 

latter and undesirable 
changes arose directly from the fact 
that President Jackson believed not 
only in his own honesty, but also in 
the integrity of all who supported 
him. On the other hand, he thought 
his opponents were not only mis- 
taken, but that they were actuated by 
base and selfish motives. This ex- 
treme partisanship caused the Pres- 
ident, therefore, to rely largely on 
the counsel of his personal friends. 
These friends, who included both 
honest men and designing politicians, 
were those who had worked hardest 
for him, and who had helped him to 
secure political success by whatever 




ANDREW JACKSON 

Born Waxhaw settle- 
ment on border line be- 
tween North and South 
Carolina, Mar. 15, 1767. 
Studied law and, after 
moving west, became first 
Fede r a 1 representative 
from Tennessee, 1796; de- 
feated Creek Indians, 1814; 
won battle of New Orleans, 
1815; crushed Seminole 
Indians, 1818; elected Pres- 
ident in 1828 and 1832; 
overthrew United States 
Bank; opposed nullifica- 
tion of tariff in South Car- 
olina, while upholding 
Georgia Indian claim 
against United States Su- 
preme Courts with Web- 
ster, an upbuilder of Fed- 
eral prestige. Died 1845. 

259 



260 THE JACKSONIAN EPOCH, 1829-184] 

methods they could devise, some of which were at least 
doubtful, if not \dcious. Jackson, however, saw nothing 
but g-ood in these friends, who formed what was called his 
^^ kitchen cabinet/^ Under this system of political favor- 
itism, private and personal considerations became magni- 
fied into atfairs of national prominence and seriously 
affected the fortunes of political leaders and the fate of 
party policies. 

One of the ideas that appealed strongly to the mind of Jack- 
son was the rewarding of his friends and the punishment of his 
opponents, a policy heartily encouraged by his campaign man- 
agers, who chiefly profited by it. Consequently Jackson began 
The Spoils ^ general removal from office of those who had not been 
System actively in sympathy with him, and he put in place of 
them his owti personal partisans. This was the beginning of the 
'^ Spoils System," which was to have a prominent share in the 
corruption of politics until curtailed by the institution of civil 
service reform.^ Up to this time the beginning of a new admin- 
istration had not been marked b^^ any general removal of minor 
officials. If the officials were considered cpialified for their posi- 
tions, they were continued. Now, however, all this was changed, 
and the removals under Jackson were fifty times as many as were 
those under all his predecessors in office ; moreover, his adherents 
and supporters were frequently given positions without any 
investigation into their qualifications or fitness for the places to 
which they were appointed. 

While Jackson lessened the efficiency of the Govern- 
ment through the appointment of unfit officials, his strong 
personality extended the powers of the Executive and 
Instances of ^^ ^^^^ Federal Government ; but, even in the 
^unification matter of upholding the authority of the Fed- 
under Jackson ^^^^^ Govcmment, Ms persoual feelings seemed 
to influence his actions. Indeed, it is difficult, in a few 

1 Paj^e 369. " ~" ^ " ' 



INSTANCES OF STATE NULLIFICATION 



261 



words, to make clear the mixed good and evil which came 
of Jackson ^s election and administration. Three in- 
stances of State interference, or nullification, which hap- 
pened in his administration, appear to illustrate the point 
in question. 

In the first of these cases of nullification of Federal 
authority, the State of Georgia practically took possession 
of the lands of the Cherokee Indians. 
The Cherokees appealed to the 
Supreme Court of the United States 
for protection, and Chief Justice 
Marshall and the Court upheld the 
claims of the Indians. Georgia, how- 
ever, defied the decision; and, as 
Jackson was opposed to the Cherokee 
contentions, that State was tri- 
umphant, because, without the aid of 
the President, the Supreme Court 
was powerless to enforce its rulings, 
(see also page 253). 

In the second instance of State 
interference, Maine and Massachu- 
setts declared that if the Senate 
ratified a provision of the treaty of Ghent (1814) , and gave 
to Canada a strip of land claimed by Maine, neither State 
would regard the treaty as binding. The Senate finally 
gave way and yielded the issue. In this case, Jackson 
was somewhat disposed to interfere against the States in 
order to keep the terms of the Federal treaty ; for he had 
regarded with great disapproval the attitude of New 
England in the War of 1812 and now it was the stronghold 
of his political opponents. On the other hand, he had 




JOHN MAKSHALL 

Born Fau quier County , 
Virginia, September 24, 
1755; among the first to 
join patriot forces in Vir- 
ginia in the Revolution; 
served in Continental 
Army; envoy to France 
under Adams; Secretary of 
State, 1800; Chief Justice 
of United States Supreme 
Court from 1801 to hi.s 
death in 1835. 



262 



THE JACKSONIAN EPOCH, 1829-1841 




fought against Great Britain, and did not show much dis- 
appointment when the Senate failed to ratify the final 
award under the terms of the treaty. 

The third instance of nullification under Jackson was 
the interference by the State of South Carolina in the 
collection of customs at Charleston under the provision 

of the tariff law of 1832, which, con- 
trary to expectations, had made less 
decided changes in the alleged ex- 
cessive duties under the ^'Tariff of 
Abominations ' ' than had been prom- 
ised or expected. The rates reverted 
to the rather high schedule of 1824. 

This time the personal element 
played its part with the President, 
for smce the passage of the tariff bill 
of 1828, Jackson had had a quarrel 
with Vice-President Calhoun. He 
had found out that Calhoun, when a 
member of Adams ' Cabinet, had dis- 
approved of his action in the invasion 
of Florida during the war against the 
Seminoles. Consequently, in the cam- 
paign of 1832, Martin Van Buren had 
been nominated for Vice-President by the Democrats 
in place of Calhoun. Jackson, more than ever a popular 
idol, had been reelected by a large majority over Henry 
Clay, National-Republican. 

After the election, South Carolina had declared that 
the tariff was unconstitutional and not binding on that 
State. Accordingly, steps were taken to carry nullifica- 
tion into effect by preventing the Federal revenue officers 



JOHN C. CALHOUN 

Born Abbeville district, 
S. C, Mar. 18, 1782. 
Served nearly 40 years in 
House of Representatives, 
in Senate, or in Cabinet 
positions; prominent in de- 
claring for war with Great 
Britain, 1812; Vice-Presi- 
dent, 1825-1832; opposed 
war with Great Britain, 
1846; favored protective 
tariff in 1816; opposed its 
growth, 1824-1832, propos- 
ing nullification as remedy; 
supported annexation of 
Texas. Died 1850. 



INSTANCES OF STATE NULLIFICATION 



263 




from collecting import duties at the port of Charleston. 
This threat aroused Jackson, and the Administration 
leaders prepared a ^^ Force BilP' to put the Federal army 
and navy at the service of the President to uphold 
the tariff law. For her part, South 
Carolina had already called out her 
militia and was prepared for 
armed resistance. 

No one questions the courage and 
determination of Jackson on the one 
hand, or of the people of South 
Carolina on the other; but Jackson, 
now bitterly hostile to Calhoun, 
determined to enforce the law, 
although he disapproved of its pro- 
visions. Calhoun and the South 
Carolinians were equally determined 
to resist what they denounced as 
^^ unjust, unconstitutional, and in- 
equitable" taxation. There would 
probably have been war, but for the 
mediation of Henry Clay, of 
Kentucky, sometimes called *^The 
Great Pacificator. ' ' He introduced a 
bill in Congress which provided for 
the gradual reduction of the tariff 
rates during the next ten years. This was the tariff 
act of 1833.^ By this Clay pleased the South and a large 
part of the West as well. At the same time, as a 
part of the compromise. Federal supremacy in the matter 
of the collections of tariff duties was expressly asserted. 



DANIEL WEBSTER 

Born Salisbury, N. H., 
Jan. 18, 1782. Achieved 
distinction as orator early 
in life; as Federalist, op- 
posed war of 1812 as in- 
jurious to New England 
States and justifying pos- 
sible withdrawal from the 
Union; member of Con- 
gress (N. H.), 1813-1817; 
moved to Boston; repre- 
sented Massachusetts in 
Congress, 1823-1827; op- 
posed protective tariflf , 
1816-1824; favored protec- 
tion, 1828; opposed nulli- 
fication (1832) and spoke 
strongly for an indissoluble 
Union; opposed admission 
of Texas; served in United 
States Senate and in Cab- 
inet positions; opposed ex- 
tension of slave territory, 
and condemned abolitionist 
excesses, 1850. Died 1852 



^See page 268. 



264 THE JACKSONIAN- EPOCH, 1829-1841 

The nullification ordinance was forthwith repealed by- 
South Carolina, and the issue between the Federal Gov- 
ernment and that State was peaceably settled. The prin- 
ciple of nullification itself was not decided, and that doc- 
trine next appeared in the Northern States, where, for 
many years, it was successfully practised in protest 
against the execution of the fugitive slave laws. 

To Jackson, the United States Bank, established by 
the Federalists in 1791 (page 204) and reestablished by the 
Democratic-Eepublicans in 1816 (page 240), was an object 
of special dislike. It has even been said that Jackson 
could not hear the name of the Bank mentioned without 
The Bank flyii^g" i^^^o a passiou. In 1832, therefore, he 
Controversy refuscd to sigii a bill to renew its charter which 
was due to expire four years later. His leading political 
opponent, Henry Clay, had insisted on taking up the re- 
newal of the charter as an issue in the elections of that 
year. Jackson accepted the challenge and took advantage 
of the distrust of the Bank on the part of the masses of 
the people. As soon as the election returns showed that 
he was supported by public opinion, he gave orders to the 
collectors of United States revenue to put no more money 
into the Federal Bank. He also ordered that the Govern- 
ment money already on deposit should be withdrawn ; so 
that, in 1836, the Bank of the United States ceased to 
exist with the expiration of its charter. The Federal 
deposits were then made with various State banks, which 
were called by Jackson's opponents his ^^pet banks." 

One of Jackson's political advisers was Martin Van Buren, 
Election of of Ncw York, and Jackson made it known that he 
Van Buren wished Van Buren to succeed him as the leader of the 
Democratic party. In 1836, Van Buren, with Jackson's powerful 



FURTHER GROWTH IN THE WEST 



265 




support, was elected over William Henry Harrison, "National- 
Republican, ' ' who later became the leader of the Whig party. 

A financial panic followed the inauguration of Presi- 
dent Van Buren. After the overthrow of the t,. „ . 

The Panic 

United States Bank, a great number of State °^ ^^^^ 
banks were organized; but these lacked the safeguards 
that are now placed around banking 
institutions by law. Many of them 
were badly managed and had little 
money in reserve. The surplus funds 
lent to these banks by the Federal 
Government were, in turn, lent out 
to speculators. When the Govern- 
ment called for its money, the banks 
were unable to pay, and many of 
them failed. United States sub- 
treasuries were thereafter estab- 
lished as places for deposit of Gov- 
ernment funds ; and this system, with 
some changes, was maintained until 
Federal Reserve Banks were estab- 
lished, about seventy-five years later, 
under the currency reform legisla- 
tion passed by Congress during the 
administration of President W^ilson. 
In spite of this period of business 
depression under Van Buren, the 
frontier line was pushed westward, 
and settlement was extended in the South and Southwest. 
The steamboat developed trade and travel purthgj. Growth 
on the Great Lakes, and the population of '"^ ^^® ^^^* 
Michigan Territory doubled in the ten years from 1820 



MARTIN VAN BUREN 

Born Kinderhook, N. Y., 
Dec. 5, 1782. Admitted 
to bar, 1803; elected to 
State senate, 1812; elected 
U. S. senator in 1821, 
serving in Senate until 
elected governor of New 
York; appointed Secre- 
tary of State by Andrew 
Jackson in 1829; Vice- 
President, 1833-18c>7; suc- 
ceeded Jackson as Presi- 
dent for one term, 1837- 
1841, defeating William H. 
Harrison, but was in turn 
defeated by Harrison in 
1844; opposed annexation 
of Texas; strongly sup- 
ported State rights; sup- 
ported tariff bills of 1824 
and 1828; rejected by 
Democratic convention in 
1844, was nominated as 
Free Soil candidate for 
Presidency in 1848. Died 
1862. 



266 



THE JACKSONIAN EPOCH, 1829-1841 



to 1830. Most of this growth took place after the opening 
of he Erie Canal (page 257) ; and in 1837 Michigan was 
admitted into the Union as the twenty-sixth State. 

A series of treaties with the Indian tribes living in 
Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, and Mississippi arranged 
for their removal beyond the Mississippi River into what 
became known as the Indian Territory. The land thus 
made vacant was taken up by white settlers, and most of 
it was devoted to the cultivation of cotton. Across the 
Mississippi, Arkansas, also with soil and climate adapted 




After Brown's " History of the First Locomotive." Courtesy of D. Appleton & Co. 

This drawing shows Peter Cooper's "Tom Thumb" locomotive in the act of passing a 
horse-drawn coach on parallel track. The race took place on the Baltimore & Ohio Rail- 
way from the "Relay House" to Baltimore, Aug. 28, 1830. The locom^otive proved to be 
the faster, but broke down "under the extraordinary excitement," and the horse won. 

to the raising of cotton, had been admitted into the Union 
in 1836. 

Van Buren had been the choice of Jackson as the lat- 
ter 's successor; but the great democracy of the West 
felt very much about Van Buren as it had felt about John 
Quincy Adams. The people believed he was out of sjm.- 
pathy with them. Moreover, he was held responsible for 
the ^'hard times" of 1837; although, on the contrary. Van 
Buren deser\^es especial credit for resisting a popular 
demand for relief measures which might have injured 
business permanently. When, therefore, the Whigs 
nominated William Henry Harrison, a soldier and south- 



AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY 



267 



erner who had ''grown up with the West," the masses of 
the people rallied around hinx as they had done around 
Jackson. John Tyler, a Democrat from Virginia, 
was nominated with him. The people recalled 
Harrison's first victory over the Indians just 
before the War of 1812; hence the campaign cry of 
"Tippecanoe and Tyler too!" was raised by the Whigs. 
When the Democrats made fun of Harrison as a man con- 
tent to live in a log cabin with a barrel of hard cider, the 



Election of 
William 
Henry 
Harrison 




SAN FRANCISCO IN 1835 

Whigs promptly made hundreds of log-cabin banners and 
raised a shout for "the log cabin, the cider barrel, and 
reform." Harrison and Tyler carried nineteen out of 
twenty-six States, Virginia, the home of both the suc- 
cessful candidates, giving more than half the votes 
against them. 

NOTES AND SIDELIGHTS 
American Colonization Society. — In connection with the 
discussion on page 192 mention may be made of the work of the 
American Colonization Society, which was founded early in the 
nineteenth century for the purpose of transporting' freed negroes 
to their former home, the continent of Africa. This movement led 



268 THE JACKSONIAN EPOCH, 1829-1841 

to the founding of the Republic of Liberia on the west coast of 
Africa. Here it Avas intended that the negro should learn self- 
g'overnment without control by, or hindrance from, the white 
race, for all whites were denied participation in, or francliise 
privileges luider, the Liberian government. The form of govern- 
ment was modeled after that of the United States. 

Sectional Misunderstandings. — In speaking of the evils of 
slavery and the prevailing pulpit denunciations of the Southern 
people for adhering to the institution. Bishop John H. Hopkins, 
of Vermont, declared: "It is usually by no means difficult to 
interest and gratify the audience when the supposed sins of 
others, which they are under no temptation to commit, are made 
the subject of censure. ' ' 

So, on the other hand, it was easy for the people of the South 
to decry the peculiar shortcomings of their Northern brothers 
in the treatment of their laboring classes and in regard to what 
was termed ' ' their unseemly haste to amass wealth. ' ' 

As a matter of fact, however, when representative people of 
either section went to live in the other, they ver^^ readily adopted 
the new modes of living and thought. When those from Southern 
communities emigrated to the North, they often became the 
strongest upholders of conditions there. In the same way, those 
who went from the North to the South came to like the social 
order there and warmly supported its political doctrines. 

Jackson and South Carolina. — The theory of absolute State 
sovereignty was so strong in the first half of the nineteenth cen- 
tury that there is little doubt that Jackson's policy of force 
would have aroused resistance in other States besides South 
Carolina. If a war over the alleged right of secession had oc- 
curred in 1832, it is not unlikely that the Union would have been 
dissolved. Daniel Webster, who spoke most strongly against the 
principle of nullification, as threatened by South Carolina, spoke 
twent3' 3^ears later against nullification as practised by Massa- 
chusetts. Because of this attitude on Webster's part, the poet 
Whittier composed the poem "Ichabod," which lamented the 
"dead" fame and "lost honor" of that great orator and states- 
man. Happily, however, the world has not accepted Whittier 's 
estimate of Webster. 



CHAPTER XII 

Terkitorial Expansion and the Balance of Power, 

1841-1860 

William H. Harrison died one month after his in- 
auguration, and Tyler took the oath of office as the first 
Vice-President called to take the place of the President. 
Much political discord followed, due chiefly to the fact 
that President Tyler was in favor of 
the annexation of Texas, to which 
The Whig action the Whigs were op- 
program posed. Tylcr retained, how- 
ever, Daniel Webster as Secretary of 
State and the friends of Clay already 
in office. In accord with a call which 
had been issued by President Har- 
rison, Congress met in extra session 
in May, 1841, and Clay, assuming 
leadership of his party, announced a 
Whig program which covered the in- 
corporation of a new Federal bank, 
and the enactment of a new tariff law. 




At one time, after a series of confer- 
ences, Clay and the President had appar- 
ently agreed to the establishment of a new 
Veto of the Federal bank with State 

Whig Bank Bill branches; but Tyler, re- 
calling the fate of the supporters of a 
Federal bank in the days of Andrew 
Jackson, finallj^ vetoed the bill as pre- 



WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON 

Born Charles City Co., 
Va., Feb. 9, 1773. First 
public service on western 
frontier under commission 
from George Washington; 
aide-de-camp to Wayne in 
campaign against Indians, 
1793-1794; settled in north- 
west territory and took 
leading part in its develop- 
ment, securing from Con- 
gress division of public 
land into smaller tracts 
more easily secured by the 
poorer settlers; appointed 
first governor of the " Indi- 
ana territory;" reappointed 
by Jefferson and Madison; 
won battles of Tippecanoe 
in 1811 and of the Thames, 
Canada, 1813; Congress- 
man and United States 
Senator from Ohio; de- 
feated by Van Buren, 1836; 
elected President, 1840. 
Died 1841. 

269 



270 TERRITORIAL EXPANSION, 1841-1860 

sentecl. A cry of bad faith was brought ag-ainst Tyler, and, 
with the exception of Webster, all the members of the Whig 
cabinet resigned. 

The Democratic President had, therefore, defeated the plan 

of the Whigs for a new Federal banking system ; 
Setting^ A^ide ^'^^^ i^ ^^^ following' year, Tyler yielded to the 

mfse^of"i83?°"^^^°' ^^^hig^ demand to sign the new tariff act of 

Aug:nst 30, 1842, which reestablished the pro- 
tective tariff rates set aside by the important compromise of 1833.^ 

Webster had remained in Tyler's cabinet principally 
because lie was then in negotiation over an important 
treaty with Great Britain. The boundary line between 
Maine and Canada (New Brunswick) had been but 
vagTiely defined in the Anglo-American treaty of 1783. In 
1814, the treaty of Ghent awarded to Great Britain a strip 
of land claimed by Maine and by Massachusetts as the 
^^ mother State." When the matter came up for settle- 
ment under President Jackson, it Avas referred by the 
Federal Government to the King of the Netherlands as 
arbitrator. This international referee decided in favor 
of the claims of Great Britain. Thereupon, the Legis- 
latures of Maine and Massachusetts declared that, as far 
as those States were concerned, if the agreement were 
ratified by the United States Senate, it would be regarded 
by them as 'null and void.''^ 

Fortunately, however, the President and the United 
States were not forced to a decision against Massachusetts 
and Maine, on the one hand, or Great Britain, on the 

^ Page 263. It is interesting to note that at this time the previous 
political appeal to " protect the American manufacturer " against " cheap 
foreign goods " was changed by the high tariff advocates to one which called 
for a tariff to "protect the American workingman" against "cheap 
European labor." 

^See also page 261. 



CLAY AGAINST TARIFF COMPROMISE 



271 



other, by reason of the unusual course of the British 
Government, which showed evident sincerity in its etfort 
to remain on friendly terms w^ith America. Accordingly, 
Great Britain sent to the United States, as special envoy, 
Lord Ashbiirton, who had opposed, 
in 1808, the British Orders in Council, 
the issuing of which was one of the 
causes of the war of 1812. The dis- 
pute was finally settled in 1842 by the 
Webster-Ashburton treaty, in the 
conduct of which Webster showed 
great shrewdness in overcoming the 
opposition of the determined Gov- 
ernor of Maine, while Lord Ash- 
burton displayed so conciliatory a 
spirit that he was af tei^wards roundly 
denounced in Canada for yielding too 
much to the claims of the United 
States.^ 

A few months after the signing of 
the treaty with England, Webster 
resigned from the cabinet and was 
succeeded by A. P. Upshur. Pres- 
ident Tyler, separated from the Whig party, on whose 
platform he had been elected Vice-President, was trying 




JOHN TYLER 

Born Charles City Co., 
Va., Mar. 29, 1790. Served 
in legislature of Virginia 
and as governor of the 
State; United States sena- 
tor 1827-1836, where he 
became noted as a strong 
supporter of State rights; 
elected Vice-President with 
Harrison in 1840, becom- 
ing President (1841) on 
death of latter; strongly 
advocated annexation of 
Texas; presided over peace 
convention called to settle 
difficulties between North 
and South in 1861; elected 
to Confederate Congress, 
1861. Died 1862. 



^ Maine refused to discuss the very basis on which Webster proposed an 
agreement, but the latter showed the Governor of the State an old map 
which convinced the Governor that the British claims were veiy nearly justi- 
fied. Webster promised not to show the map to Lord Ashburton. On the 
other hand, the British archives held the long-sought map used in the origi- 
nal negotiations of 1782, which confirmed the claims of the United States. 

It should be added that the King of the Netherlands had, as arbitrator, 
apparently exceeded his jurisdiction by drawing a compromise line without 
reference to the merits of the question. 



272 TERRITORIAL EXPANSION, 1841-1860 

to build up a Democratic organization. The annexation 
of Texas had now become a prominent political issue 
and on this issue he hoped to unite the South under 
his leadership."^ 

It was revealed to President Tyler that both Great 
Britain and France were conducting negotiations with 
representatives of Texas (now an independent republic) 
and with Mexico. Texas had repeatedly expressed a de- 
sire to join the Union, but, as the Union had been cold to 
her advances, it was natural that the new republic should 
discuss the possibilities of alliances elsewhere for self- 
protection against the designs of Mexico ; for the govern- 
ment of that country had persistently refused to acknowl- 
edge Texan independence. Under Tyler's direction, 
Secretary Upshur was secretly negotiating a treaty of 
annexation with Texas when he and the Secretary of 
the Navy were killed in an accidental explosion on the 
gunboat Princeton in February, 1844. John C. Calhoun 
took Upshur's place, and the proposed treaty, concluded 
on April 12, was rejected by the Senate. The question of 
the annexation of Texas became the leading issue in the 
presidential campaign which followed. 

The proposed annexation of Texas had been denounced as " a 
slaveholders ' conspiracy. ' ' This is not a fair statement, because 
it was as natural a step in American expansion as any previous 
acquisition of territory in the West and Northwest. Texas wished 
to enter the Union. Her neighbor States welcomed her, and an- 
nexation was almost inevitable. As soon as it became known in 
1843 that President Tyler wa^ considering annexation, ex-Presi- 
dent John Quincy Adams presented the following resolution to 

* President Jackson had sidestepped this issue in 1837, evidently fearing 
it would injure the prospects of Van Buren. 



ANNEXATION OF TEXAS OPPOSED 



273 



the Committee on Foreign Relations : ' '.That any attempt of the 
government of the United States, by an act of Congress or by 
treaty, to annex to this Union the republic of Texas, or the people 
thereof, would be a ^dolation of the Constitution of the United 
States ... to which the free States of this Union and their 
people ought not to submit." The committee refused to report 
the resolution to the House, but he and others from the North 
combined in an address to the people of the ''free" States, declar- 
ing ' ' That annexation, effected by any act or proceeding of the 
Federal government, or any of its departments . . . would be 







-^•^.^>-i:_ 



CHICAGO IK 1832 

In the following year Congress made an appropriation for constructing a harbor at 

Chicago. At this time the growth of the city began, and it has never stopped. 



a violation of our national compact, ' ' and that it would not onl}^ 
result in a dissolution of the Union but fully justify it.' 

By 1844 a large number of Americans had gone to the Oregon 
territory and they petitioned the Federal government to look out 
for their interests. Eventual h^ these settlers from the States 
claimed the whole of Oregon, and the question became united 
with that of Texas annexation. "Fifty-four Forty or Fight" 
became one of the slogans of the campaign of 1844, a. cry which 
meant that the United States should insist upon possession of all 
the Oregon country up to the parallel 54° 40', or the southern 
boundary of Alaska. 

^ See opposition to annexation of Louisiana, page 223. 
18 



274 



TERRITORIAL EXPANSION, 1841-1860 



The annexation of Texas, together with the acquisition 

of the Oregon Territory, became, therefore, the principal 

issue of the campaign of 1844. The Democrats nominated 

James K. Polk, of Tennessee, and George M. 

Election of ' . i , a i • i 

James K. Polk Dallas, of Pennsylvania, on a platiorm which 
favored annexation. The Whigs nominated Henry Clay, 
of Kentucky, just after Clay had declared himself strongly 
against the proposed annexation of Texas. The election 

resulted in a victory for Polk and 
Dallas. Consequently, in 1844-1845, 
before his term had ended, Tyler 
made preparations for the passage 
of a bill for the admission of Texas 
into the Union.^ 

The Republic of Texas had been, 
in turn, a part of the Spanish pos- 
sessions and of the Republic of 
Mexico. Under Spanish and Mex- 
ican rule, Moses Austin, of Connecti- 
cut, and his son, Stephen P. Austin, 
had obtained grants of land. So 
successful were these pioneers in 
securing settlers from the United 
States that the Mexican Government 
became alarmed and forbade any 




JAMES K. POLK 

Born Mecklenburg Co., 
N. C, Nov. 2, 1795. 
Studied law in Tennessee; 
entered Legislature of that 
State in 1823; elected to 
Congress for seven terms, 
1825-1839, part of the time 
being chosen Speaker of 
the House; elected gover- 
nor of Tennessee, 1839; 
strongly advocated annex- 
ation of Texas, and was 
elected President over Clay 
in 1844, serving one term. 
Died 1849. 



" In the " Liberty " party of the North — " the political abolitionists " — 
there was strong opposition to the admission of Texas as a step likely to 
increase the territory given over to slavery. The leader of this party was 
James G. Birn^ey, of New York. Birney had been born in Kentucky, but 
had moved co Alabama. He had emancipated his slaves and moved again 
to New York. When, during the campaign, Clay had seamed to waver in 
his opposition to the admission of Texas, the " Fr-ee Soil " men of New 
York cast their votes for Birney for President rather than for Clay, thus 
helping to elect Polk and pave the way for the annexation of the Republic 
of Texas. 



DISPUTE BETWEEN TEXAS AND MEXICO 275 

further immigTation from the States. Trouble arose 
between the settlers and Alexico, and in 1833 Texas 
rose in revolt. Two years later the Texans defeated 
tlie Mexicans in the battles of Gonzales and ^^^^^ ^.^^^ 
Goliad. In 1836, however, Santa Anna, the independence 
President of Mexico, invaded Texas with a large 
army. At tlie Alamo, an old Spanish mission used as a 
fort, David Crockett and a small garrison were besieged 
by an army of 4000 Mexicans. With the exception of five, 
who finally surrendered, all the garrison of some seven- 
score men died fighting, and ^ve survivors were mas- 
sacred by the Mexicans. With the cry: ^'Remember the 
Alamo!" on their lips, Texans everywhere rallied under 
General Samuel Houston and decisively defeated the 
Mexicans at the battle of San Jacinto (1836). Santa Anna 
himself was captured, and Texas won her independence. 
On securing her independence, Texas sought annexa- 
tion to the United States ; but, as before stated, no agree- 
ment was reached until after the election of *^ . . 

Admission 

Polk and Dallas. After the victory of the Demo- °^ ^^^^^ 
crats, the opposition to annexation was defeated; and 
Texas, which had been an independent Republic for nine 
years, was, in December, 1845, admitted into the Union 
as the twenty-eighth State. 

War with Mexico 
Although, since her defeat at San Jacinto, Mexico 
had not attempted to regain Texas, she now declared that 
she regarded the annexation of that territory ^. , 

^ */ Dispute 

by the United States as an unfriendly act. The lexlfand 
Mexican government forthwith suspended dip- Mexico 
lomatic intercourse with the United States. Moreover, 



276 TERRITORIAL EXPANSION, 1841-1860 

a dispute had arisen as to the boundary line between 
Texas and Mexico. "When captured at San Jacinto, 
Santa Anna had agreed that Texas should extend to 
the Rio Grande; but Mexico now attempted to set aside 
that agreement, and asserted that the boundary Hue was 
formed by the Nueces Eiver (see map, page 277). Except 
for a few Texan settlers on the south bank of the Nueces, 
this territory was then unoccupied by either people, so the 
United States Government sent General Zachary Taylor 
and a small force across the Nueces. After these troops 
had remained there some time, a Mexican force ambushed 
a small body of American regulars and killed or captured 
the entire detachment. This took place on April 25, 1846 ; 
and Congress declared that war had been begun by act 
of Mexico. 

Taylor's army of some 2000 men was greatly outnumbered by 
the Mexicans; but after repelling- one attack at Palo Alto, near 
the present site of Brownsville, Texas, he defeated the Mexicans 
on the following day (May 9th) and drove them beyond the Rio 
Taylor's Grande. Taylor then crossed the Rio Grande, and, after 
Campaign ^j^j-ee davs of fighting at Monterey, again defeated the 
Mexicans. His progress was then stopped in order to give 
greater weight to the campaign of General Winfield Scott, which 
was directed against Mexico City by way of Vera Cruz. Santa 
Anna, believing that an opportunity had thus presented itself 
for driving Taylor out of Mexico, attacked Taylor's force of 
5000 men with an army four times as large. In a fierce two days' 
battle at Buena Vista, February 22-23, 1847, Taylor succeeded in 
defeating the Mexicans and driving them off the field. 

After the battle of Buena Vista, General Scott, with 12,000 
men, captured Vera Cruz and began a march upon Mexico City. 
Although the United States forces were victorious in every im- 
portant engagement in the six months' campaign that followed, 



TAYLOR'S CAMPAIGN 



277 




278 



TERRITORIAL EXPANSION, 1841-1860 



the Mexicans fought stubbornly all the way. On many occasions 
it seemed certain that the invaders must be repelled or defeated, 
Scott's ^^^^ ii^ every case the self-sacrifice, courage, and ability 
Campaign Qf gome Subordinate officer or officers saved the day. 
It may not be too much to say that no army invaded any country 
with greater credit, and nearly all of these subordinate officers 




STORMING OF THE FORTRESS OF CHAPULTEPEC (September 12-13. 1847) 

The last serious obstacle to Scott's march upon the City of Mexico. This engagement 
put to a severe test over a score of young officers who subsequently became renowned com- 
manders in the sectional struggle of 1861-1865. Among others, George B. McClellan and 
U. S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, and T. J. Jackson entered the capital of Mexico together. 

afterwards became distinguished in the Union or Confederate 
service in the sectional war of 1861-65. 

On the 14th of September, Mexico City surrendered; and, 
early in 1848, a treaty was signed, by the terms of which Mexico 
Purchase of gave up north of the Rio Grande the territory that 

California Yir^ been the chief cause for war. In addition, the 

United States agreed to pay Mexico $15,000,000 for her claim to 
the territory, which included the whole of the present States of 
California, Nevada, and Utah, together with much of Arizona, 
New Mexico, Colorado and "Wyoming. 

Soon after the close of the Mexican War, gold was 
discovered in California, and a remarkable tide of immi- 



DISSATISFACTION WITH THE COMPROMISE 279 

gration set in for the Pacific Coast. AVithin two years, 
California was seeking" immediate admission into the 
Union as a ^^free'' State. In Congre&s, the Southern 
leaders were opposed to immediate action, because Cali- 
fornia would overthrow the '^balance of power'' and 
would give the- Senate to the North, which sec- ^^^ romise 
tion had long controlled the House of Repre- °^ *^^^ 
sentatives. Moreover, it was contended that the admission 
of California as a *^free" State, part of which was south 
of the 36° 30' parallel, violated the spirit of the Missouri 
Compromise, which had been maintained for thirty years." 
Again, Henry Clay came forward and proposed a, com- 
promise, the main provisions of which were: (1) that 
California should be admitted as a ^^free" State; (2) 
that the remainder of the Mexican, cession should be 
organized into territories without an immediate decision 
as to the question of slavery; (3) that the Federal Govern- 
ment should be given further power to seize fugitive 
slaves ; (4) that slavery should be continued in the District 
of Columbia; (5) and that $10,000,000 be given to Texas 
in payment for some of her territorial claims conflicting 
with those of the United States.^ 

This compromise settled the debate in Congress, but it did 
not afford satisfaction to either side. Calhoun and other South- 
ern leaders argued that the North had gained everything and 
had lost nothing bv its provisions. He argued ^. ,. , ^. 
that ' ' the balance of power ' ' had been destroyed, with the 
and that Congress, wholly under the control of 
the North, might pass any legislation it saw fit to the injury and 

' Page 245. 

* Some years previously. Representative Wilmot, of Pennsylvania, had 
introduced a proviso that neither slavery nor involuntary servitude should 
be allowed in any territory that might be acquired from Mexico. The 
Wilmot Proviso passed the House, but was held up in the Senate. 



280 TERRITORIAL EXPANSION, 184M860 

oppression of Southern interests. In short, Calhoun was using 
the same arguments of State rights and local self-government 
brought forward on previous occasions by New England leaders. 

On the northern side, Senator William H. Seward declared, 
chieflj^ in reference to the fugitive slave provision, that there 
was a ''higher law" than the Constitution and the will of Con- 
gress — the moral duty to protect human rights against ail law. 
He and several other Northern Senators voted to receive petitions 
in Congress to take steps peaceably to dissolve the Union. 

Particularlj' had the Federal Fugitive Slave Law aroused 
vehement protest in the North. This law, although founded on 
an agreement between the colonies in the New England Con- 
federation as to the return of slaves and indentured servants, 
was harsh in its provisions and, giving the negro no right to be 
heard in his own behalf, led to the possibility^ of the seizure and 
reenslavement of free negroes in the North. Methods were at 
once devised for the encouragement of runaway negroes and for 
„ „.^ ^. ^ their safe conduct through the States to Canada. 

Nullification of -, -, -, ■, i , -, -, 

the Fugitive These secret methods became known as the under- 
ground railroad." Legislation was passed by 
eleven Northern States nullif^dng the fugitive slave law; and 
leading abolitionists publicly burned the Constitution for sanc- 
tioning ''the iniquitous institution of slavery." The extreme 
abolitionists became so A^iolent in denouncing the South that 
equally violent passions were aroused in the latter section ; so 
that those in the South who argued for emancipation were con- 
founded with those who denounced the slaveholder as neces- 
sarily^ an outlaw or a criminal. Instead of sympathy and 
cooperation between the sections in the effort to solve a great 
problem, voices of hatred and mutual misunderstanding con- 
fused the issues and made peaceful settlement impossible.^ 

^On March 7, 1850, Webster, in reply to Calhoun's last speech in the 
Senate, declai-ed that the South had certain just grievances against the 
North, and that the operations of the abolition societies " for the last 
twenty years have produced nothing good or valuable." Two years later, 
Abraham Lincoln was even more emphatic in disapproval of the violent 
attitude of the Ultra-Abolitionist agitator. In a eulogy of Henry Clay, 
Lincoln declared: "Cast into life when slavery was already widely spread 
and deeply seated, he did not perceive, as T think no wise man has per- 



THE OREGON BOUNDARY SETTLED, 1846 281 

Almost from the earliest times in the history of 
America, governments and individuals had considered the 
problem of cutting a ship canal through the 
Isthmus of Panama or through Central Amer- an°intS?ocean 
ica. In 1850, a treaty was made with Great 
Britain which guaranteed the neutrality of any such canal, 
should it be made then or in the future. 

This treaty with Great Britain followed other treaties 
or agreements in regard to the boundary line between 
Canada and the United States. After the war of 1812, 
a movement was begun to build forts on the border and to 
construct battleships on the Lakes just as border lines 
were fortified in Europe ; but these plans were discarded 
and the present unfortified and open boundary is due 
to the fact that, in Canada and in the United States, the 
ideals of both peoples have been the same, while the 
governments have been responsive to the will of a 
free electorate. 

The most serious boundary dispute which had arisen was 
with reference to the ''Oregon Country" which was claimed by 
both countries. President Polk had been elected on the promise 
of securing the Oregon Country as well as Texas (page 274). 
Polk insisted on the following points in favor of the claims of the 
United States: (1) That, as early as 1792, Captain 
Robert Gray, of Massachusetts, had entered the Boundary 
Columbia River; (2) that Lewis and Clark had 

ceived, how it could be at once eradicated without producing a greater evil 
even to the cause of human liberty itself. His feeling and his judgment, 
therefore, ever led him to oppose both extremes of opinion on the subject. 
Those who would shiver into fragments the Union of these states, tear to 
tatters its now venerated constitution, and even burn the last copy of the 
Bible, rather than slavery should continue a single hour, together with all 
their more halting sympathizers, have received, and are receiving their just 
execration ; and the name and opinion and influence of Mr. Clay are fully 
and, as I trust, effectually and enduringly arrayed against them." 



282 



TERRITORIAL EXPANSION, 1841-1860 



explored and claimed that country in 1805 ; and ( 3 ) that 
number of citizens of the United States had emigrated 

country and had 
made settlementsf 
there. The settle- 
ment of the Oregon 
Country had fol- 
lowed the establish- 
ment of Methodist 
and Presbyterian 
missions in 1834 and 
18 3 6. In 1843, 
thousands of settlers 



a large 
to that 




poured into the 
river valleys, and 
they soon set up a 
form of government 
for themselves. Two 
years later. Great 
Britain and the 
United States agreed 
to maintain joint 
possession; but 
President Polk 




MILLARD FILLMORE 

Born Cavuga Co., N. Y., 
Feb. 7, 1800. Began pub- 
lic career in Erie county; 
elected to State legislature 
1829; Representative in 
Congress, 1833; elected 
comptroller State of New 
York, 1847; elected Vice- 
President on ticket with 
Zachary Taylor, 1848; be- 
came President, 1850, on 
death of Taylor; candidate 
for President of American 
party in 1856. Died 1874. 



ZACHARY TAYLOR 

Born Orange Co., Va., 
Sept. 24, 1784. Raised 
and educated in Kentucky; 
served in northwest dur- 
ing War of 1812; fought in 
Black Hawk War in north- 
west, and in Seminole War 
in Florida; led invading 
force into Mexico from 
northern border, winning 
notable victories at Palo 
Alto, Resaca de la Palma, 
Monterey, and Buena 
Vista; nicknamed by his 
soldiers "Old Rough and 
Ready;" was elected Pres- 
ident over Cass, 1848. 
Died while President, July 
9, 1850. 

brought this to an 

end in 1846, when the United States secured the Oregon Country 

to the 49th parallel. 

In 1850, the year of the admission of California, President 

. ^ T , _, , Taylor died, and Vice-President Millard Fill- 
Great Leaders Pass from *^ ' rN n 

the Scenes Prior to the more Succeeded to the Presidency. Calhoun 
died in that year ; and in 1852 Clay and Web- 
ster also died. These three great leaders had each hoped to 
become President; but all had failed, although Clay was twice 
nominated by his party. 

In 1852, the Democrats nominated Franklin Pierce of New 
Election of Hampshire. The Whig candidate was General 
Franklin Pierce wiiifield Scott, of Virginia, who, like President 
Taylor, was a military hero in the Mexican War. Scott, however, 



RESCUE OF MARTIN KOSZTA 



283 




Nov 



called ' ' Old Fuss and Feathers ' ' because of his peculiar manners, 
was by no means as popular with the masses as ' ' Old Rough and 
Ready" Taylor had been. Pierce carried twenty-seven out of 
thirty-one States and was thus elected by an overwhelming ma- 
jority. William R. King, of Alabama, was elected Vice-President. 

During" President Pierce's term, 
the United States, through two naval 
officers, established (1) a principle 
in international law, and (2) laid the 
foundations of the modem power and 
progress of Japan. Furthermore, 
(3) a new treaty-purchase was drawn 
up with Mexico, while (4) domestic 
affairs included the political and sec- 
tional struggle for Kansas, and the 
formation of the Republican party. 

In the harbor of Smyrna, Asia 
Minor, Captain Duncan N. Ingra- 
ham, commanding the sloop St. Louis, 
leamed that one Martin Koszta was 
held a prisoner by the Austiians in 
that port. Koszta had been a subject 
of Hungary and a rebel ag"ainst Aus- 
trian rule, but Captain Ingraham 
was especially interested in the fact that Koszta had 
escaped to America and had taken out papers preparatory 
to becoming a citizen of the United States. 
Captain Ingraham, therefore, requested that 
Koszta be delivered to him. When this request was curtly 
refused, Ingraham demanded the prisoner's release 
within a stated time, or he would open fire. After 
telling Koszta that he would be hanged, the Austrian 



FRAXKLIN PIERCE 

Born Hillsboro, N. H., 
23, 1804. Entered 
into campaign in support 
of Andrew Jackson, 1828; 
member of N. H. legisla- 
ture, 1829; elected to Con- 
gress in 1832 and in 1834; 
elected to U. S. senate in 
1836, resigning 1842; 
served with distinction 
under Scott in war with 
Mexico; elected President 
1852, serving one term; as 
President gave support to 
southern contentions in 
political struggle of that 
time; declared for the 
Union and the support of 
Lincoln's administration in 
1861. Died 1869. 



Rescue of 
Martin Koszta 



284 TERRITORIAL EXPANSION, 1841-1860 

officers tested the determination of the American 
commander to the moment when Ingraham, watch in hand, 
cleared the deck of the St. Louis and prepared for action. 
The Austrians then yielded and Koszta was saved. 

The Koszta incident took place in 1853. In the same 
year, Commodore M. C. Perry visited Japan and suc- 
ceeded in negotiating a treaty with that country. Up 
Rise of ^^ ^^^^^ time, Japan had refused intimate inter- 
japan coursc witli wcstem nations; but soon after this 
treaty was made, she began to welcome western ideas 
and methods. In a wonderfully short period of time she 
progressed far ahead of all other Oriental peoples, and 
became recognized as one of the great World Powers. 

Pierce had been elected President by a very large 
majority from the whole Union, and it seemed as if an 
era of good feeling was about to set in. In the North, 
William Lloyd Garrison and the more extreme abolition- 
ists who were denouncing the South and endangering the 
Union had been attacked by mobs in the streets of Boston 
and other cities. In the South, ^'the fire-eaters,'' as they 
were called, were rebuked by conservative men and many 
of them were defeated for reelection. But, as in the time 
of Monroe, a period of political quiet immediately pre- 
ceded a period of the bitterest contention. 

In 1854, Senator Stephen A. Douglas, of Illinois, intro- 
duced a bill for the organization of the ^^ Nebraska Terri- 
tory,'' which included the present States of Kansas, 
Nebraska, the Dakotas, Montana, with parts of Wyoming 
and Colorado. According to the plan proposed by 
Douglas, States were to be formed from this Territory 
and admitted with or without slavery as it should he de- 
cided by the settlers themselves. This he called the doc- 



'BLEEDING KANSAS" 285 

trine of ** popular'^ or ^^ squatter" sovereignty. The 
whole of this territory was north of the Douglas' 
36° 30' boundary line of the Missouri Com- Bin ^ " 
promise (page 245). Douglas argued, however, that 
the spirit of the Missouri Compromise had already been 
violated by the admission of California as a **free State," 
part of which was heloiv the same line extended. He 
further argued that, if the settlers wanted either slavery 
or free labor, they should have what they wished. 

The arguments of Douglas were plausible, and the 
*' Kansas-Nebraska" bill was passed. He certainly had 
some right on his side ; but no measure could have aroused 
more bitterness and contention. Immediately there began 
a fierce struggle for the political control of the territory 
in question. Great anti-slavery orators, amid consider- 
able disapproval in their own sections, were successful 
in raising money for sending to Kansas settlers provided 
with arms and munitions. Springfield rifies came ..Bleeding 
to be known as ^'Beecher's Bibles," so called ^^^^^^" 
after Henry Ward Beecher, one of the great orator- 
ministers of that time. On the other hand, the extremists 
in the South prepared for battle in similar spirit. Mis- 
souri was near at hand ; and those interested in maintain- 
ing slavery established themselves chiefly on the north 
side of the Kansas River, while ^ ^free-State" people 
settled chiefly on the south side. Neither party was dis- 
posed to heed the result of elections. In 1856 the town of 
Lawrence was attacked by pro-slavery men ; and, in the 
same year, a party of free-State men, led by John Brown, 
surprised and killed some settlers on the Pottawat- 
omie Creek. 



286 TERRITORIAL EXPANSION, 1841-1860 

At Topeka, as early as 1855, the ''free-State'' faction 
had drawn up a constitution which prohibited slavery; 
but their opponents took no part in the proceedings. 
Rival state Another State Constitution was drawn up at 
Constitutions ^^ie neighboring" town of Lecompton. This 
Constitution favored slavery ; but later, when it was sub- 
mitted to a vote, it was rejected by the settlers. The 
slave State advocates were soon outnumbered, and Kansas 
finally voted to exclude slavery altogether. Kansas was 
not admitted into the Union, however, until 1861. 

Sectional sentiment was further inflamed by an assault made 
upon Senator Charles Sumner, of Massachusetts, by Representa- 
tive Preston Brooks, of South Carolina. Sumner had used 
extremely offensive language in reference to Senator Butler, a 
relative of Brooks, then ill and absent in South Carolina. 
Brooks, after vainly seeking an apology or explanation 
Brooks from Sumner, approached the latter in the Senate, 

and, after stating the purpose of his visit, struck 
Sumner with a gutta-percha walking cane. Sumner, a very 
large man, was seated at his desk. He raised his arms to ward 
off the blows of Brooks, but, apparently unwilling to meet force 
with force, eventually fell to the floor. Such was the state of 
feeling at the time of this unfortunate episode that, although 
Cass, of Michigan, and other Senators expressed their indigna- 
tion over Sumner's indecent expressions; and, although Brooks 
was censured by the House, both men were regarded in their own 
sections as worthy of special honors^ — one as the victim of a brutal 
assault, and the other as the avenger of a grievous insult. 

Two new political parties sprang into prominence during the 
administration of President Pierce. One of these was the short- 
lived ' ' Know-Nothing " or ''American" party; and the other 
was the Republican party, which was destined 
"Know-Nothing" to become a great power. The chief principle 
of the ''American party" was stated in the ex- 
pression: "Put none but Americans on guard." The party 



BEGINNINGS OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY 287 



wished to limit the influence and activities of aliens in American 
politics. When, however, its members were asked about its pur- 
poses and policies, they replied : " I know nothing. ' ' For a short 
while the party was very successful in carrying- local elections. 

The Republican party may be said to have had its 
beginning under some oak trees at Jackson, Michigan. 
Here, in 1854, after the passage of Douglas's Kansas- 
Nebraska bill, a large number of people met and declared 
their opposition to any extension of slavery; and it was 
reconunended that a convention of dele- 
gates from the free States be called. J/tiTe'^^"^^ 
Owing to the intense feeling aroused in the Party; Election of 

rw 11 1 • 1 1 1 1 ^ pj^i j_ James Buchanan 

South by the violent attacks oi the extreme 
abolitionists, the new party was almost necessarily a party 
organized along sectional lines ; but it 
could appeal strongly to voters in 
much the larger, the more prosper- 
ous, and the more populous section 
of the Union. After some local suc- 
cesses in 1854, the Republicans, in 
1856, nominated John C. Fremont, of 
California, for President. The Dem- 
ocrats nominated James Buchanan, 
of Pennsylvania, and argued for the 
Union against the spirit of section- 
alism in politics. The American 
party nominated ex-President 
Millard Fillmore. Buchanan won; 
but Fremont, leading the young Re- 
publican party, was a close second, while Fillmore carried 
Maryland only. 

During the term of President Buchanan, other north- 




JAME3 BUCHANAN 

Born Franklin County, 
Pennsylvania, April 23, 
1791. In diplomatic service 
under Jackson; Secretary 
of State under Polk; min- 
ister to Great Britainunder 
Pierce; President, 1857- 
.'61. Died 1868. 



288 TERRITORIAL EXPANSION, 1841-1860 

western Territories were formed into States or were pre- 
paring to become States ; and it was clearly seen that the 
South was fighting a losing battle. In 1857, the United 
Dred Scott ^tates Supreme Court decided, in the case of 
Decision Bred Scott, that a slave was not legally a citizen 
of the United States; and that he might be held as a 
slave in any territory controlled by the United States. 
This decision was directly opposed to the principal 
plank of the Republican platform. Republican leaders 
denounced the decision and openly declared against 
its enforcement. 

These opposing ideas were sharply contrasted in a 
series of public debates between Stephen A. Douglas, the 
author of the Kansas-Nebraska bill, and Abraham 
Lincoln, a ^ ^country lawyer" of Springfield, who had been 
a member of the Illinois Legislature and the House of 

Representatives. In 1858, Douglas and Lincoln 
Douglas were respectively the Democratic and the Republi- 

can candidates for the United States Senate. 
Lincoln was opposed to the extension of slavery into new 
territory. On the other hand, he would not interfere 
with slavery where it already existed. He took no ex- 
treme view on either side. He disliked the methods of 
the Northern abolitionists in their opposition to slavery; 
but he was equally opposed to the extension of slavery 
into new territory. Lincoln had been born in the South ; 
but he had been brought up in the North, and had seen 
the greater growth and prosperity of that section. Like 
many Southerners who had freely expressed themselves 
before sectional passions had been so greatly aroused, he 
earnestly hoped for some form of gradual emancipation. 
Douglas won the Senatorship on his ^* popular sover- 



LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATES 289 

eignty^' doctrines; but Lincoln had succeeded in forcing 
him into opposition to the protection of slavery in ''free'' 
territory and, therefore, also in opposition to the Supreme 
Court decision in the case of Dred Scott. This position 
of the Democratic leader paved the way for division in 
the Democratic party and the subsequent election of 
Abraham Lincoln to the Presidency.^ ^ 

Lincoln's speeches were, as a rule, models of a simple style 
b.y which he made political issues clear to the masses of the people. 
Three quotations from his speeches will help us to understand 
three important questions of his day. The first one is taken from 
his debates with Douglas in regard to the extension of slavery, 
in the course of which he said: ''A house divided against itself 
cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure per- 
manently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to 
be dissolved. I do not expect the house to fall — but I do expect 
it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all 
the other. Either the opponents of slavery will arrest the further 
spread of it, and place it where the public mind shall rest in the 
belief that it is in the course of ultimate extinction ; or its advo- 
cates will push it forward till it shall become alike lawful in all 
the States. ' ' The second quotation gives the cause for the sudden 
halting of the emancipation movement. This quotation is taken 
from Lincoln's eulogy of Henry Clay, and is found on page 280. 
The third quotation, like the first one, is taken from the debates 
with Douglas and represents Lincoln's viewpoint of differences 
in race development. ''I have no purpose," he declared, in 
opposing the extension of slavery, ''to introduce political and 
social equality between the white and the black races. There is 
a physical difference between the two which, in my judgment, 
would probably forever forbid their living together upon the 

^**In the same year, Douglas differed with President Buchanan on the 
latter's acceptance of the Lecompton Constitution for Kansas. Douglas 
maintained that it did not represent the wishes of a majority of the people, 
of that territory. 

19 



290 TERRITORIAL EXPANSION, 1841-1860 

footing' of perfect equality, and, inasmuch as it becomes a neces- 
sity that there must be a difference, I, as well as Judge Douglas, 
am in favor of the race to which I belong having the supe- 
rior position." 

Many of the Northern abolitionists were so far misled by 
false stories of slavery in the South that they believed the negroes 
were ready, with some outside assistance, to rise in revolt and 
put an end to slavery forever. Men of high 
E^rorV^^oTMJSy principles, like Gerrit Smith, of New York, and 
of the Ultra- Thomas Wcutworth Higginson, of Massachu- 

Abolitionists .^^ ' 

setts, were willing to aid so fierce a ranatic as 
John Brown (see page 311) in a project to invade the South and 
incite a slave insurrection. Consequently, Brown gathered a 
number of men, passed through the State of Maryland, and 
selected Harper's Ferry, Virginia, on the Potomac River, as the 
best point from which to enter the South, After collecting suf- 
ficient rifles and pikes for arming a thousand or more slaves, 
he suddenly crossed the Potomac during the night of October 16, 
1859. He first shot a negro who attempted to defend the property 
of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, seized the United States 
arsenal, and captured a number of the citizens of the neighbor- 
hood, whom he held as ' ' hostages. ' ' 

Brown and his band, however, could make no further prog- 
ress. The negroes, although they had been secretly informed of 
Brown's purposes, refused to rise in revolt ; and, on the following 

day, ''BrowTi's Fort" was surrounded by citizens 
Attempt at of Virginia and by a detachment of United States 

Marines. Brown defended his position with des- 
perate courage ; but he and his surviving companions were cap- 
tured, but only after they had killed a number of citizens. 
After a fair trial and conviction on the charge of conspiracy 
and murder, Brown was hanged at Charles Town, Virginia (West 
Virginia), December 2, 1859.^^ 

" Unfortunately, Brown came to be regarded as a martyr to human 
rights, and Ralph \Yaldo Emerson spoke for a large majority when he 
declared that: "The new saint will make the gallows glorious like the 
cross." Abraham Lincoln, on the contrary, denounced John Brown and 
his following. 



ELECTION OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN 291 

Indignation against slavery, together with denunciation of 
slaveholders, had greatly increased since the publication in 1852, 
of "Uncle Tom's Cabin," a novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe. 
This book became very popular; and, although it was written 
with a good purpose, it pictured the worst possible sectional 
side of slavery in the South and created false Misunderstanding 
impressions of the character of the Southern people. On the 
other hand, the people of the South, especially those of the 
"Lower South," were aroused to such bitter resentment that 
many of them expressed a desire to resent further misrepresenta- 
tions with violence. 

Such was the unhappy condition of the country when 
the Presidential campaign of 1860 began. 
In May, 1860, the Republicans met in Chi- Sd^ m^Stion o?^ 

T •iiAii T- in Abraham Lincoln 

cago and nominated Abraham Lincoln tor 
President, although William H. Seward, of New York, 
had been, up to that time, the leading candidate. Hannibal 
Hamlin was nominated for Vice-President. 

In April the Democrats had met in Charleston, South 
Carolina. The Convention split, however, into two divi- 
sions. One of these declared for Douglas and his doctrine 
of '* popular sovereignty. ' ' The other faction declared 
that they supported the decision of the Supreme Court 
and stood for protection to the slaveholder in the Terri- 
tories until the Territories were ready to frame constitu- 
tions — for or against slavery. The Convention was 
obliged to adjourn without having made any nominations. 
It met later in Baltimore and the latter faction withdrew 
from the convention hall. Those who remained nominated 
Stephen A. Douglas, of Illinois, and Herschel V. Jolinson, 
of Georgia. Those w^ho withdrew nominated John C. 
Breckinridge, of Kentucky, and Joseph H. Lane, 
of Oregon. 



292 TERRITORIAL EXPANSION, 1841-1860 

At this time the Constitutional Union Party was 
formed. This party nominated John Bell, of Tennessee, 
and Edward Everett, of Massachusetts. Their platform 
declared simply for ^'The Constitution, the Union, and 
the enforcement of the laws/' 

In the election that followed, Lincoln and Hamlin re- 
ceived a majority of the electoral votes and a plurality 
in the popular vote. In the former, the figures stood: 
180 for Lincoln and Hamlin; 72 for Breckinridge and 
Lane; 39 for Bell and Everett; and 12 for Douglas and 
Johnson. The popular vote stood, in round numbers : 
Lincoln, 1,800,000; Douglas, 1,300,000; Breckinridge, 
800,000; Bell, 600,000. 

NOTES AND SIDELIGHTS 
Fate of the Emancipation Movement in the Upper South 

It has been said, doubtless with much truth, that the Southern 
States would have rid themselves of the incubus of slavery had 
it not been for the violence of the abolitionists and the introduc- 
tion of the problem into partisan politics. Such was the view 
of Abraham Lincoln and other far-sighted men in the North, 
on the one hand, and it was also that of a large number of slave- 
holders on the other. Ultra-Abolitionist agitation was the chief 
reason for the failure (by one vote only) of an emancipation bill 
thatwas brought up in the legislature of Virginia in 1832. Thomas 
Jefferson had said that where the negroes were numerous, people 
felt like the man who was holding a wolf by the ears — he wanted 
to let go but felt safer in holding on. The summer preceding 
this momentous debate in the Virginia legislature a negro insur- 
rection had taken place in which fifty-seven whites, mostly women 
and children, had been massacred. The leader of the uprising, 
Nat Turner, had been incited thereto by the work of the more 
violent abolitionists. However right these agitators were in their 
main principles, their methods were mistaken and barbarous. ^- 

" Thomas Jefferson Randolph introduced the emancipation measure of 
1832 in the Virginia legislature. 



AN INCIDENT OF SLAVE DAYS 293 

The "Gag" Rule. — President Jackson advocated the exclusion 
from the United States mails of incendiary- publications intended 
to incite the slaves. The House of Representatives went so far 
as to prohibit (1838) the reading of petitions for the abolition 
of slavery, which not frequently were denunciations not only of 
that institution, but of all slaveholders as criminals not entitled 
to the protection of the law. In 1840, the House resolved not to 
receive petitions at all. Ex-President John Quincy Adams was 
the leading- opponent of the ''gag" rule, and it was 
finally rescinded. 

An Incident of Slave Days. — The following story illustrates 
the generally contented condition of the negro slaves and their 
devotion to the families to which they "belonged." During the 
Revolution, Governor Heard, of Georgia, was captured by the 
British; but he was later rescued from prison by the daring of 
"Mammy" Kate, a faithful servant in the Heard family. Some- 
time thereafter, Governor Heard desired to reward "Mammy" 
Kate by setting her free. She not only refused to accept her 
freedom, but drew up a will by the terms of which she gave each 
of her children to the several children of the Governor to be their 
slaves forever. There is little doubt that if the abolitionists of 
the North had knowT^i of the good feeling which existed between 
the whites and blacks of the South they would have worked hand 
in hand with the emancipationists of the latter section.^" The 

^^ In the northern tier of slave States thousands of slaves were freed 
by the voluntary action of their masters. In Virginia alone more slaves 
were freed by voluntary emancipation between the Revolution and the 
Civil War than were freed in the entire North by statute. The presence 
of the free negro in slave communities presented a serious problem and 
most of the Southern States found it necessary to place restrictions on 
emancipation, forbidding it altogether unless the freedmen were removed 
beyond the limits of the State. 

John Randolpli, who died in 1833, provided in his will for the eman- 
cipation of all his slaves, and directed his executors to purchase lands for 
them north of the Oliio. His executors bought a large tract of land in 
the State of Ohio and took the negroes on the long journ-ey, but at the 
border of the county in which the land lay they were met by men armed 
with rifles, who ordered them back, and they were not allowed to enter. 
Indiana and Illinois passed laws prohibiting free negroes and mulattoes 
from settling witliin their borders. 



294 TERRITORIAL EXPANSION, 1841-1860 

question of slavery would have been kept out of political strife, 
and there would have been little or none of that terrible bitter- 
ness of misunderstanding' in which good people on one side de- 
nounced equally good people on the other as either actual crimi- 
nals or as would-be murderers. 

Rescue of Koszta. — The rescue of Koszta (page 283) was 
heralded with great acclaim by the people of several nations. 
Congress approved Ingraham's courageous stand, and awarded 
him a medal. The working men of Great Britain, subscribing 
one cent each, gave the American commander a silver chronom- 
eter, while the German- American citizens of Chicago and other 
bodies presented him with special testimonials of esteem. 



CHAPTER XIII 

Economic and Social Review, 1800-1860 

The first half of the nineteenth century was a period 
in which the American people, more than any other people 
in the world, made great strides forward in economic and 
intellectual development and social improvement.^ 

In regard to the beginning of this period, reference 
has been made to the terrible condition of the roads, to 
rude methods, and to the wide lack of what are now con- 
sidered necessities, but which then were rare luxuries. 
Agricultural implements and methods were unbelievably 
awkward. Thomas Jefferson felt impelled to ^^^^^ 
to set aside time from problems of statecraft j^|irSn"s*^' 
to experiment with the ancient wooden plow, ^^°^ ^^°^ 
which barely scratched the surface. He advocated the 
use of an iron plowshare, but many farmers would not 
use it since it was rumored that the iron ^^ poisoned the 
soil. '^ Nevertheless, Jefferson's plow gained in favor, 
although it was not until 1855 that the chilled iron plow 
was given to the world by James Oliver, of Indiana. In 
1800, scythes and grain cradles took the place of the 
ancient sickle, and, in 1831, Cyrus McConnick, of Virginia, 
invented the reaper, which did as much for the develop- 
ment of agriculture m the West as Whitney's cotton gm 
did for the South."- 

^No people, anywhere, developed such a universal inventive genius. 
''• There is only one nation in the world to the mass of whose population this 
form of genius can lie attributed." — Walker: Making of a Nation. 

2 See pagre 216. 

295 



296 ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL REVIEW, 1800-1860 

Little was known or thought ahout the use of fertilizers 
or of the conservation of soil, of forest, or of native birds 
and other animals. In the course of time some of these 
American birds and animals became almost or entirely 
extinct. Almost every one knows what happened to the 
l)uff alo, and how a few were finally preserved in order that 
the species might live ; but few know of the extinction of 




THE FIHST REAPER AS INVENTED BY M CORMICK 

such birds as those wild "pidgeons^^ first seen by the 
Jamestown settlers (page 9), which disappeared only in 
recent years. 

A monument erected at Shepherdsto^vll, West Virginia, com- 
memorates the inventive genius of an American who worked out 
the model of a steamboat as early as 1784 and who, on the 
Potomac River, three years later, successfully launched the 
steamboat itself in the presence of General Gates and other 
officers of the Continental army. This American inventor was 



MATTHEW FONTAINE MAURY 297 

James Rumsey, of Mary^land. George Washington wrote encour- 
agingly to Rumsey, warning him against those who might seize 
upon his ideas as their own ; but Rumsey was poor, 
and Washington's kindly advice did not equip and 
steamboats. Benjamin Franklin, however, who also o/the°^™^'^* 
was an inventor and scientist, became interested, and ^^^^"^''o^t 
helped Rumsey to go abroad to get assistance ; but Rumsey died 
in London just as he seemed about to get the help he needed. 

Not long after the early experiments of Rumsey, John Fitch, 
of Connecticut, constructed a steamboat that was more successful 
than Rumsey 's; but he, too, failed to achieve permanent success. 
Besides Rumsey and Fitch, a number of other persons, including 
William Longstreet, of Georgia, constructed steamboats; but it 
remained for Robert Fulton, of Pennsylvania, to become the 
''father of steamboat navigation." In 1807, his first boat, the 
Clermont y made regular trips on the Hudson River between New 
York and Albany. From that time on, the success of the steam- 
boat was assured. 

In 1811, the Orleans was built and launched on th.e Ohio at 
Pittsburgh. By 1820, sixty steamers were plying their routes on 
the great inland water route supplied by the Ohio, Mississippi, 
and the Missouri, while from every tributary stream there 
swarmed out great numbers of flat boats and rafts. These made 
their way down the river, and "their cargoes, when not upset or 
lost," were sold and the boats broken up, the crew returning 
home by steamer. 

In 1819, the Savannah crossed the ocean from Savannah to 
Liverpool under steam and sail, but regular passage across the 
ocean by steam was not secured till 1838 under British auspices. 

Shortly after this last-named event, the study of ocean cur- 
rents, trade winds, and the ocean bottom was developed by the 
greatest of our early scientists, Matthew Fontaine Maury, who 
has been aptly called "The Pathfinder of „ , 

xi o. M 1 (4mi TT 1 ijx i? A Matthew Fontaine Maury, 

the Seas and The Humboldt of Amer- "The Pathfinder of 
ica. ' ' Maury was the first scientist of the 
world to map out regular ocean routes for ocean-going vessels; 
he was the first to study and understand the regular courses of 



298 ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL REVIEW, 1800-1860 

ocean currents and of trade winds, and his discoveries saved to 
commerce countless millions of dollars every year. No other 

man had ever done so much for the trade 
of all the world. He was awarded special 
honors by the grateful governments and 
peoples of France, Great Britain, Russia, 
Prussia, Austria, Belgium, Portugal, Den- 
mark, Sweden, Holland, and smaller na- 
tions. Nor did Maury 's services end here. 
He studied land winds and storms as he 
did sea winds and currents. From these 
studies he worked out plans for the United 
States Weather Bureau, although the 
idea may have been suggested to Maury 
by the studies of those earlier American 
scientists, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin 
Franklin. 




MATTHEW FONTAINE 
MAURY 

Born Spottsylvania 
County, Virginia, January 
14, 1806. Entered United 
States Navy, 1825; super- 
intendent Naval Observa- 
tory, 1844-'61; earned title 
of "Pathfinder of the Seas" 
through discoveries of 
routes based on relations 
of trade winds and ocean 
currents; also called the 
"Humboldt of America;" 
originator of the plans for 
the United States Weather 
Bureau; inventor of tor- 
pedo-submarine defense 
for Southern Confederacy; 
refused Presidency of 
Academy of Sciences at 
Paris to help rebuild the 
South during Reconstruc- 
tion. Died 1873. 



Owing to the construction of the 
Great Erie Canal — "Clinton's Big 
Ditch," as it was called — New York 
doubled its population between 1820 
and 1830, taking Philadelphia's place 
as the leading American city. During 
the same period, the then powerful 
and populous State of Virginia held 
first place as the mother of States and Presidents. In 
the Illinois legislature of 1833, 58 members were from the 
South, 19 from the Middle States, and 4 from 
ceitefs^of New England. In 1850, two-thirds of the popu- 
lation of Indiana were Southern in origin, com- 
posed largely of emigrants from North Carolina.^ 

From 1815 (roughly speaking) to 1850, there was a 

^ Turner : The New West. A few years later, however, a strong tide of 
immigration from New England and the Middle States set in. 



SHIFTING CENTERS OF POPULATION 299 

shifting" of the manual working population from the farms 
and small trades to the factories, which grew larger and 
more numerous. Factory towns rose as if by magic, and 
new immigrants filled them when the supply of native 
labor drawn upon in town and country was exhausted. 
These new towns rarely had good water, there was no 
sewerage system, and no regular garbage disposal. 

Altogether, for many years before science and social 
and political agencies took hold of the new system, aided 
by a sense of enlightened self-interest on the part of the 
factory owner, the living conditions of these free laborers 
were, in many respects, considerably inferior to those of 
the negro slaves of the South. The worst in one case was 
doubtless equal to the worst in the other, but the average 
of happiness and health was far higher among the negroes 
of the Southern farms. In the factory, the labor day 
lasted from twelve to fifteen hours, according to the time 
of the year, for there were no really serviceable artificial 
lights. Even in the daytime there was poor light, foul air, 
and overwork for men, women, and children.^ 

* Conditions began to show improvement in the latter part of this period, 
but they became by no means good until years after the War of Secession. 

"Hope Factory (Rhode Island), in 1831, rang its first bell ten minutes 
before sunrise. Five minutes after sunrise the gates were locked against 
tardy comers, not to open again until eight at night. (And a committee of 
laborers claimed that the employer stretched this horrible " day " by twenty 
or twenty-five minutes more, by always keeping the factory clock slow ) . The 
only respite from toil during the fifteen or sixteen hours were twenty-five 
minutes for breakfast and a like period for dinner — both meals being cold 
lunches brought by the operatives. And more than half the operatives 
were children. 

"This was not an exceptional instance: it was typical. At Paterson, 
New Jersey, women and children were at their work in the mills by 4.30 in 
the morning. The Eagle Mill (at Griswold, Connecticut) called on its em- 
ployees, in 1832, for fifteen hours and ten minutes of actual toil." — West: 
History of the American People. 



300 ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL REVIEW, 1800-1860 

Lighting by gas and heating by means of anthracite 
coal came into use in the early part of the nineteenth 
century, although neither hard coal nor gas was at first 
thought practicable for the purposes proposed. In 1806, 
Daniel Melville, of Newport, Rhode Island, lighted 
Lighting j^^g house and the street in front of it with gas; 
Heating ^^^ little was thought of the idea until, in 1816, a 
company was chartered to manufacture gas in Baltimore. 
The new method of lighting, while poor and weak by com- 
parison with modern lighting, was thought very wonder- 
ful in those days, and people traveled hundreds of miles 
to see it in actual use. As yet no one dreamed of the 
natural gas which was, in later times, to be released from 
under the soil and used in so many communities for both 
light and heat. 

Planing mills, Colt's revolvers, iron stoves, and fric- 
tion matches were, in turn, invented, and the telegraph 
became effective in 1844, although actually invented by 
S. F. B. Morse some vears earlier. In 1844, 

The Telegraph 

Atfanttc ^^^^ ^^^^ message was sent over a line from 

Cable Washington to Baltimore. This was fol- 

lowed m 1857 by the laying of the Atlantic cable, the lay- 
ing made possible by the genius of Maury (see above), the 
enterprise of Cyrus W. Field, and British capital.'^ 

Although the Southern States were far behind their 
Northern sisters in manufacturing development, they ex- 
celled, for a time, in railroad building. The first rail- 
road prepared for steam locomotives was the Baltimore 

^John Mercer Brooke, of Florida, had just invented a deep-sea sound- 
ing apparatus. This disclosed the nature of the sea bottom and where it 
would be best to run the cable. For Brooke and the construction of the 
first ironclad, see page 324. 



SURGERY AND THE USE OF ANAESTHETICS 301 

and Ohio, which was chartered in 1827. On July 4, 1828, 
Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, the last surviv- 

P 1 T>w 1 • n Railroad 

m^ Signer of the Declaration of Independence, construction 
broke earth for the constrnction of the road. Although 
he was then ninety years old, he realized the importance 
of his part in developing the new idea. He said : * ^ I con- 
sider this among the most important acts of my life — 
second only to that of signing the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence, if second even to that. ' ^ In 1833, the Charleston 
(South Carolina) and Hamburg Railroad was the longest 
in the world. Soon, however, the better developed and 
more populous North was building more numerous and 
better equipped lines from all the rapidly growing indus- 
trial centres. 

One of the most important inventions of this period 
was the Hoe rotary printing press, which was greatly 
improved in 1846. It was invented by 
Richard M. and Peter S. Hoe. This won- Sfnt7„r'"' '"^ 

• Processes 

derful machine made possible the expansion 

of the daily newspaper. The cheap ^ ^ penny '^ newspaper 

had made its regular appearance as early as 1833. 

In 1842, Dr. CraAvf ord W. Long, of Georgia, first began 
to use anaesthetics in the practice of surgery. Doctor 
Long reported his discovery to the Georgia 
State Medical Society; but the medical profes- the^uTe^Jf 
sion did not make general use of this discovery 
until some time after W. F. G. Morton, a dentist of 
Boston, gave wide publicity to his own experiments in this 
line, which he began in 1846. 

Public school systems were begun in all the older 
States very soon after the formation of the Union. In 



302 ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL REVIEW, 1800-1860 




Virg-inia, Thomas Jefferson planned and presented a 
Educational Complete system of public education as early as 
Plans 1779. Benjamin Franklin was also deeply inter- 

ested in public education. Public support of these sys- 
tems was, however, weak and halting 
for a long time. In 1837, New Eng- 
land was first fully awakened to the 
importance of public education by 
Horace Mann. This teacher and lec- 
turer was born in Massachusetts in 
1796, and died in Ohio in 1859. 

Plans for the higher education of 
w o m e n first ap- ' 
peared in the 
youngest of the 
original thirteen 
States, and the 
first college for 
women was estab- 
lished at Macon, 
Georgia. This was Wesleyan Col- 
lege, which awarded the first degrees 
to its graduates in 1840. Oberlin 
College, Ohio, one of the first of the 
co-educational institutions, opened its 
doors to both men and women in 
1833. In 1841, it granted its first 
degrees to women. In the new West- 
ern States, systems of public educa- 
tion w^ere planned from the beginning of settlement. Here, 
again, we find the active mind and hand of Thomas Jef- 
ferson. The Ordinance of 1787 (page 188) provided for 



NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE 

Born Salem, Mass., July 
4, 1804, of Puritan ances- 
try. Educated at Bow- 
doin College; excelled as a 
novelist; noted for excep- 
tional powers of observa- 
tion, careful analysis, and 
originality of thought. 
Died Plymouth, New 
Hampshire, May 19, 1864. 




EDGAR ALLAN POB 

Born Boston, Jan. 19, 
1809, of English and Mary- 
land descent; raised in 
Richmond and educated in 
England and at University 
of Virginia; excelled as short 
story writer and as poet, 
showing, in both forms of 
authorship, brilliant orig- 
inality of conception and 
presentation. Died Balti- 
more, Oct. 7, 1849. 



EDUCATIONAL PLANS 



303 




eighteenth cen- 



the encouragement of education. Furthermore, when a 
new State was admitted, a section in every township, or 

one square mile in every thirty-six, 
was set aside for the support of the 
public schools. Later, another section 
was added, and the sale of land from 
these sections amounted to large 
sums of money. In total extent, the 
land thus set aside for sale was 
equivalent to the combined area of 
several States. Additional provision 
was likewise made for State 
universities. 

Throughout the 
tury, America 
won especial dis- 
tinction in the 
sphere of its 
political writings. Since Thomas 
Jefferson is accepted as belonging to 
the political school or sphere, Benja- 
min Franklin may be said to have 
been preeminently the literary light 
of that period. Sermons and theo- 
logical writings there were in great 
numbers, and a number of the New 
England ministers in especial 
achieved notable -reputations. In the 
South, in the large private libraries 
of the planters, there were written 
verses, diaries, and memoirs ; but, as a rule, these were 
not offered to the public eye, and even when privately 



HENRY WADSWORTH 
LONGFELLOW 

Born Portland, Me., Feb. 
27, 1807. Educated Bow- 
doin College; also studied 
abroad; professor at Bow- 
doin and at Harvard; 
issued first volume of 
poems, 1839; soon gained 
a place as a poet of wide 
popularity, appealing very 
powerfully to the young. 
Died 1882. 




RALPH WALDO EMERSON 

Born Boston, May 25, 
1803. Educated Harvard 
College; studied for the 
ministrs'- and served a 
period as pastor; re- 
signed from ministry in 
1832; noted as philosopher, 
essayist, and p'let. Died 
Concord, 1882. 



304 ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL REVIEW, 1800-1860 



Development 
of American 
Literature 



printed, the author set them forth under some pseudonym. 
After the first quarter of the nineteenth century, how- 
ever, several writers came into view with whose works we 
are all more or less acquainted. Indian cus- 
toms and the pioneer hfe of the settler were 
put into story form by J. Fenimore Cooper, of 
New Jersey, and Wilham Gilmor e Simms, of South Caro- 
hna. Nathaniel Hawthorne, the greatest of our early 
novelists, first attracted especial attention in 1837. 

Poetry was represented by William 
Cullen Bryant, Henry Wads worth 
Longfellow, Edgar Allan Poe, James 
Russell Lowell, and Jolm. Greenleaf 
Whittier. Besides these may be men- 
tioned such poets and essayists as 
Ralph Waldo Emerson and Oliver 
Wendell Holmes. Many of our early 
State historians did their work in this 
period ; and historians such as Pres- 
cott, Bancroft, and Motley began, or 
as in the case of Prescott, completed 
their writings in the period under dis- 
cussion. In 1828, Noah Webster 
published the first edition of his 
American Dictionary of the English Language.'' J. E. 
Worcester had issued his "Geographical Dictionary" in 
1817 ; and at the close of this period, 1860, he brought out 
the first illustrated dictionary of the English language. 
The leading early exponents of the art of painting- 
were represented by Charles Willson Peale, who 
painted the first portrait of George Washington, 
and his son, Rembrandt Peale, who completed the last 




W. H. PRESCOTT 

Botn Salem, Mass,, May 
4, 1796. Educated at 
Harvard; noted for the 
charm and vivid portrayal 
of his historical work, such 
as his "Ferdinand and 
Isabella," "Conquest of 
Mexico," "Conquest of 
Peru," etc. Died 1859. 



i I 



Painting 



LINCOLN AND DOUGLAS 305 

some years 'after Washington's death, although it was 
first painted from life when Washington was President. 
Gilbert Stuart, Copley, and West also were active painters 
who have handed down to posterity the features of the 
great men of their time prior to the days of the daguerreo- 
type and photograph. 

NOTES AND SIDELIGHTS 

Slavery Issue Involved in Sectional Politics. — Although a 
series of protective tariffs had proved a burdensome tax upon the 
non-manufacturing Southern States, the active issue forced upon 
them was the consideration of negro slavery. Since the sup- 
porters of legislation objectionable to the South were, as a rule, 
opposed to slavery^, many of the Southern leaders began to feel 
that the political future of their section depended upon the 
extension of that institution. A new slave State would favor 
low tariff or free trade, while a new free State would be likely 
to give additional power to the forces of high protection. The 
issue was very much like that presented in 1803 and 1845 when 
New England opposed territorial expansion in the southwest. 
The New England leaders, like the Southerners in later times, 
feared loss of political power and legislation inimical to 
local interests. 

Lincoln and the Abolitionists. — Lincoln was denounced by 
some of the abolitionists as much as John Brown was praised by 
these earnest but intemperate reformers. Wendell Phillips, one 
of the greatest of the abolitionist orators and preachers, called 
Lincoln the ^' Slave Hound of Illinois." It should be borne in 
mind that all abolitionists were not of the extreme type. Those 
who sought to cooperate with the Southern people in freeing the 
slaves may be called emancipationists. 

Lincoln and Douglas. — Although Lincoln overshadowed 
Douglas in the debates between the two, as well as in after-life, 
it is but fair to recognize that Douglas was a very able man and 
that his arguments were well presented. Here, for example, is 
part of his argument on behalf of his Kansas-Nebraska bill. It 
is worth consideration and comparison with the statements from 
20 



306 ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL REVIEW, 1800-1800 

his mightier opponent, who believed that Douglas was correct 
in what is here quoted but who differed with him in the matter 
of allowing slavery to be extended to the territories. "There is 
but one possible way," he said, "in which slavery can be abol- 
ished, and that is by leaving the State, according to the principle 
of the Kansas-Nebraska bill, perfectly free to form and regulate 
its institutions in its own way. That w^as the principle upon 
which this Republic was founded. . . . Under its operation 
slavery disappeared from . . . six of the twelve original 
slaveholding States; and this gradual system of emancipation 
went on quietly, peacefully, and steadily so long as we in the free 
States minded our own business and left our neighbors alone. 
But the moment the abolition societies were organized throughout 
the North, preaching a violent crusade against slavery in the 
Southern States, this combination necessarily caused a counter- 
combination in the South, and a sectional line was drawn w^hich 
was a barrier to any further emancipation. Bear in mind that 
emancipation has not taken place in any one State since the 
Free-soil Party was organized as a political party in this 
country. . . . The moment the North proclaimed itself the 
determined master of the South, that moment the South com- 
bined to resist the attack, and thus sectional parties were formed 
and gradual emancipation ceased in all the Northern slave- 
holding States. ' ' 

First Railroads. — The first practical railroad prepared for 
steam locomotives was the Baltimore and Ohio, chartered in 1827 
to operate from Baltimore to Wheeling on the Ohio River. The 
first section of the road was completed to Ellicott's Mills (13 
miles) in 1830, and in that year the pioneer engine ' ' Tom Thumb ' ' 
was finally defeated in a race with a horse-drawn car over a part 
of that distance. The next practical use of the steam locomotive 
railroad was in South Carolina. The "Best Friend" locomotive, 
first used in 1830, was more successful than the ' ' Tom Thumb ' ' 
until it was wrecked the following year in an explosion caused by 
a negro sitting on the safety valve. In 1833 the Charleston and 
Hamburg line (137 miles) was the longest railway in the world. 
In the meantime, other railroad systems had been begun at 
Albany (N. Y.) and at Philadelphia. 



CHAPTER XIV 

Division and Reunion : 1860-1877 

PART I. SECTIONAIj CONFLICT 

From the period of the tariff controversy in 1832, 
South Carolina assumed the role of champion of the inter- 
ests of the Lower South in the sectional struggle over 
political and economic policies.^ The State was turning 
from the doctrine of nullification to the threat of secession, 
which, in the preceding half century, had been most fre- 
quently proclaimed by New England. Prom 
the North, the last pronounced threat of in secesSon 

Sentiment 

secession was voiced principally by Massa- 
chusetts in opposition to the annexation of Texas. The 
Massachusetts Legislature had declared its belief in the 
^ ^ right '^ or *^duty" of secession in 1847; but the storm 
blew over, and the political leaders of the State saw less 
danger in the growth of the southwest than they had at 
first anticipated. Opposition to this form of expansion 
died down as it appeared that the economic system of the 
North, together with its rapidly growing population, was 
clearly outstripping the South? 

In ^ ^ the fifties, ' ^ South Carolina took up the misgivings 
laid aside by Massachusetts, with, it must be said, more 
basis for alarm. By remaining in session till after the 
Presidential election of 1860, the South Carolina Legis- 
lature served notice that if the Republican party elected 

^ The Lower South — the " cotton belt " of the larger plantations — con- 
sisted of seven States : South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Missis- 
sippi, Arkansas, and Texas. 

' See page 223 ; also page 273. 

307 



308 DIVISION AND REUNION: 1860-1877 

its candidate by Northern votes, the State would exercise 
her ''right to withdraw from the Union." On the news 
of the election of Lincoln and Hamlin, therefore, the South 
Carolina Legislature called a Convention which, on De- 
cember 20, passed an ordinance of secession declaring 
that ''the Union now subsisting between South Carolina 
and the other States ... is hereby dissolved.^ 

Commissioners were appointed to go to Washington 
to negotiate with the Federal government for the return 
to South Carolina of Federal forts, lighthouses, etc., occu- 
pying land which the State had originally ceded to the 
Union. The Commissioners were also directed to 
arrange for a treaty of "peace and amity" between 
the Commonwealth of South Carolina and the Govern- 
ment at Washington. 

On the other hand. Major Anderson, in charge of Fort 

Moultrie, transferred two Federal companies under his 

command to Fort Sumter, which was built on an island in 

Charleston harbor more accessible to Federal aid from 

. , ^ the sea and less open to attack from land; and, 

Period of ^ ' ' 

Uncertainty ^^^ January 5, there sailed from New York, 
under orders from Washington, the steamer Star of the 

^ There is no reason to doubt that Lincoln would have given the South 
a fair deal, if he had been able to control the radical element in his party. 
He would have felt his responsibility as the leader of a political party not 
represented in the South, but at that time an unhappy mutual ignorance 
kept the best element of either section from controlling the situation. 
Lincoln was thought to be a radical, and it was even rumored in the South 
that Hamlin was a negro. On the oth-er hand, thousands of people in the 
North were persuaded that the southern people were quite barbarous and 
that " no mercy should be given to those who showed none." The violent 
Abolitionists, as distinguished from the gradual emancipationists, openly 
advocated servile insurrections in the South and in some localities were 
successful in inciting such uprisings. See page 292. 



PERIOD OF UNCERTAINTY 



309 



West, carrying troops and provisions for Fort Sumter. 
Three days later, the steamer arrived off Charleston har- 
bor, but on January 9 was turned back by shots fired from 
South Carolina batteries.** 

After the failure of the Star of the West expedition. 
President Buchanan made no further effort to reinforce 
the garrison of Fort Sumter, and trustworthy liistorical 




A BATTERY DIRECTED AGAINST FORT SUMTER 



evidence indicates that an agreement was reached be- 
tween South Carolina and the Federal government under 
which, while President Buchanan remained in office, no 
step on either side would be taken to precipitate a crisis 
or lead to war or bloodshed. Therefore, some definite 
Federal policy awaited the advent of the Administration 
of Abraham Lincoln, which was to take up the reins of 
office in March, 1861. 

In the meantime, United States Senators from the 

*0n December 29th, the United States arsenal in Charleston was sur- 
rendered to a military force under the control of Governor Pickens. 



310 DIVISION AND REUNION: 1860-1877 

Lower South were rapidly resigning their seats; and, in 
so doing, they barely anticipated the action of their 
respective States in passing ordinances of secession. 
South Carolina invited representatives from these States 
. „ „ . to a Constitutional Convention to meet in 

A New Union 

fhe^st?tes°of Montgomery, Alabama, February 4, to 
the Lower South QYesite a Southem Confederacy. The States 
following South Carolina in secession early in 1861 were : 
Mississippi, January 9; Florida, January 10; Alabama, 
January 11 ; Georgia, January 19 ; Louisiana, Januar}^ 26 ; 
and Texas, February 1. It is of importance to bear in 
mind that here the secession movement halted, and the 
States of the Upper South that later joined the Confeder- 
acy did not do so until the Federal government announced 
that it would use force to compel the seceded States to 
return to the Union. 

While these events were occurring in the Lower South, 
men were gathering from South, North, East, and West, in 
Pgace ^^^ effort to save the Union by conciliation, or 

Convention compromisc. In January, Virginia urged her 
sister States to send delegates to a Peace Conference or 
Convention which held sessions in Washington through 
the month of February. Ex-President Tyler presided, 
and twenty States were represented. Nothing came of the 
movement, for Congress rejected the plan proposed by 
the Convention.^ 

The Union, or that part of it not included in the States 
already withdrawn, was full of discordant cries, opinions, 

* Congress proposed, however, by a two-thirds majority made up of all 
parties or factions represented, a Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitu- 
tion making slavery irrevocable or perpetual where it already existed. This 
proposed amendment was ratified by Ohio and Maryland before war broke 
out, after vvliich it was tacitly abandoned. 



VARIOUS VIEWPOINTS 311 

and proposed policies.^ There were those who declared 
their belief that the Union would be ^^ purified'^ by the 
withdrawal of the South. These included the ultra- Abo- 
litionists, a number of whom had been for some time work- 
ing for disunion.' Others, led by Horace Greeley, editor 
of the influential New York Tribune, endorsed the senti- 
ment, ^^Let our erring sisters depart in peace." various 
Those who supported this view declared that a viewpoints 
Union ^'pinned together with bayonets" could not last. 
Moreover, the alleged ^' right of secession" had been so 
frequently proclaimed in the North that many in that sec- 
tion necessarily believed that the Federal government had 
no constitutional authority to use force or ^^ coercion" to 
bring back into the Union States that had withdrawn from 
it. In the Northeastern States, at least, a large minority 
of the American-bom citizens accepted this view. In the 
West, on the other hand, the people of those States which 
had been ^^ carved out of the Federal domain" were quite 
determined to preserve the Union * ' at any cost. ' ^ ^ 

^ There were some prominent men in the seceding States of the Lower 
South who ardently opposed secession. Alexander H. Stephens, a member 
of Congress and afterwards Vice-President of the Confederacy, was among 
those who opposed the movement. When out-voted by the majority, these 
opponents of secession cast their fortunes with their respective States. 

^ F, B. Sanborn, in a letter to his associate and friend, Thomas Went- 
worth Higginson, wrote approvingly of John Brown : " I believe that he is 
the best Disunion champion you can find, and with his hundred men, when 
he is put where he can raise them and drill them (for he has an expert drill 
officer with him), he will do more to split the Union than a list of 50,000 
names for your convention, good as that is." Higginson was a descendant 
of the Rev. Francis Higginson mentioned on page 46, and, during the war, 
commanded a regiment of negro troops in South Carolina. 

" Some went to extremes in the matter. Senator Chandler, of Michigan, 
declared that: "Without a little blood-letting this Union will not, in my 
estimation, l>e worth a rush." Apparently, he and his associates sought to 
bring on a conflict which they thought would be brief, sharp, and splen- 
didly decisive. The foreign-born element of this section was also " national- 
ist " in sympathy. Especially was this true of the Germans in Missouri, 



312 



DIVISION AND REUNION: 1860-1877 




This latter sentiment was voiced best by Abraham 
Lincoln, who based his views upon the earlier opinion of 
Webster and in accordance with the sentiment of his 
predecessor, Andrew Jackson — "The Union, it must he 
preserved.'' Lincoln wished to preserve the Union, and 
was ready, like Jackson, to use the resources of the Fed- 
oral government to maintain it by force, if need be. In 

the meantime, at Montgomery, Ala- 
bama, delegates from the seceding 
States had taken steps to organize a 
central government. Jefferson Davis, 
of Mississippi, was elected Presi- 
dent, and Alexander H. Stephens, of 
Georgia, Vice-President, under a 
constitution similar to that of the 
United States, except that protective 
tariffs and governmental bounties 
were expressly forbidden. President 
and Vice-President were to serve 
for six years, and were to be in- 
eligible for reelection. The sov- 
ereignty of the States was explicitly 
recognized. 

On March 4, Lincoln took the oath 
of office as President of the United States. In his in- 
augural address he declared that the Union was older 
than the Constitution and the States, that 

Inaugural Address ,, 'ijp • tt j. ' j. i 

and Views of the right 01 sccession did not exist, and 

President Lincoln , , 

that the Federal government could prop- 
erly use force to bring a seceding State back into the 
Union. The President also pledged himself and the 



JEFFERSON DAVIS 

Born Christian County, 
Kentucky, June 3, 1808. 
Graduate West Point, 
1828; served in Mexican 
War under Taylor; as sec- 
retary of war under Presi- 
dent Pierce, reorganized 
and enlarged the army; 
United States Senator from 
Mississippi at time of 
secession; resigned and 
was elected President 
Southern Confederacy; 
imprisoned after the war, 
but was not brought to 
trial. Died 1889. 



INAUGURAL ADDRESS OF LINCOLN 



313 



Republican part}^ not to interfere with slavery wher- 
ever it already existed. An important part of the 




L.. 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN 



Born Hardin County, Kentucky, February 12, 1809. Almost wholly self- 
educated; studied law and entered public life in Illinois; member of legislature, 
1834-'42; elected to House of Representatives, 1846; opposed extension of 
slavery and also methods of the abolitionists; elected President, 1860; opposed 
secession and waged war for preservation of Union; after the war, opposed re- 
construction plans of radical Republicans; re-elected President, 1864; shot by assas- 
sin April 14, and died April 15, 1865. Statue by St. Gaudens, erected in Chicago. 

inaugural address referred to a matter which eventually 
led to the opening of hostilities. This was in respect to 



314 DIVISION AND REUNION: 1860-1877 

the holding of Federal reservations within the confines of 
the seceded States and the expression of his intention to 
enforce Federal authority throughout the Union. Ijincoln 
stated his purpose to hold these forts and to '^collect the 
duties and imports.^' The position of the President on 
this question seemed clearly defined at this date; never- 
theless, the Federal government or the cabinet officers 
during a period of several weeks in which promises were 
made to the Confederate conunissioners from time to time 
that the forts would be given up, the last of these being 
given out by Secretary Seward to Justice Campbell of 
the United States Supreme Court as late as April 8. On 
that date Secretary Seward wrote : ^ ' Faith as to Sumter 
fully kept^ — wait and see. ' ' On the same day, however, a 
message was received at Charleston informing Governor 
Pickens that President Lincoln purposed sending pro- 
visions to Fort Sumter. 

As war vessels, supplies, and men were on the way 
to Fort Sumter, the Government of the Confederate States 
accepted this proceeding as an act of war. Accordingly, 
Major Robert Anderson, in command of Fort Sumter, 
was called upon to surrender the fort. He refused, and 
on the 12th of April, 1861, the date of the arrival off 
Charleston of the Federal fleet, Sumter was bombarded 
by General P. G. T. Beauregard, in command of the Con- 
federate forces at that point. On the following day, 
Anderson, after a gallant but hopeless defense, surren- 
dered, and his small command was permitted to march out 
with the honors of war.^ 

The news of the fall of Sumter and the firing on the 

® During this engagement, the Federal fleet outside Charleston harbor 
oflFered no aid to Major Anderson in his defense of Sumter. 



BLOODSHED AT BALTIMORE 315 

flag aroused the North; so that the issue was clearly 
drawn when President Lincoln, on April 15, ^he caii 
called for 75,000 volunteers ^ ' to suppress com- ^^^ Troops 
binations against the laws of the United States.'' 

It will be remembered that eight of the Southern States 
had opposed secession. In these States there was an 
immediate expressiorb of opposition to a war of coercion 
or to the * invasion'' of their sister States. ^"^ Virginia 
promptly refused to contribute her quota of men, and 
passed an ordinance of secession on April 17. Arkansas 
followed on May 6, North Carolina on May 20, sentiment in 
and Tennessee on June 8. These States at the upper south 
once united with the Southern Confederacy. In the re- 
maining four Southern States the secession movement 
was put down. In Missouri, there w^as a sharp struggle,^ ^ 
Kentucky endeavored wdthout success to maintain a posi- 
tion of neutrality, while the people of Delaware seemed to 
be opposed to both secession and coercion. In Maryland, 
however, the sympathy with the other Southern States 
was so strong that the government at Washington found 
it necessary to interpose very vigorously in the arrest of 
the members of the State Legislature and of leading citi- 
zens, while thousands crossed the Potomac and joined the 
Confederate forces in Virginia. 

In the meantime, the first blood was shed in Baltimore, 
when, on April 19, the Sixth Massachusetts Regiment 
passed through that city on the way to Wash- Bloodshed 
ington. Missiles were thrown at the soldiers, *' Baltimore 
who replied with shots, and the conflict resulted in the 
death of four soldiers and twelve citizens. 

*» See also page 268. 
"Page 311. 



316 DIVISION AND REUNION: 1860-1877 

Shortly after the secession of Virginia, the Confeder- 
ate capital was moved from Montgomery to Richmond, 
and both governments made active preparations for war. 
Only the most far-sighted, however, realized the magni- 
tude of the impending conflict. Those who did in any 
measure realize it were the veterans on either side who 
had fought together in the Mexican War and against the 
Indians in the South and West. They knew that when 
they faced each other it was not going to be an easy victory 
for either. The majority of those who gaily enlisted 
seemed to think that the war would last a few months at 
most. The average Southerner went into the struggle 
Summing up with au iguoraut contempt for the determina- 
opiii?na"nd ^i^^^ ^^^ fighting qualities of the North. The 
Resources Northerner enlisted with a like ignorance of 
the valor, endurance, and character of his Southern 
brother. The Southerner was apt to think of the North- 
erner as so involved in commercial pursuits as to have 
become incapacitated for war. The Northerner thought 
of the Southerner either as one who lived wholly by the 
labor of others, or as a weakling incapable of enduring 
the hardships of a prolonged military campaign. One 
failed to realize the grim determination and tremendous 
resources of the North; the other as little imagined the 
self-sacrificing devotion to what the Southerner was con- 
vinced was the sacred cause of local self-government. 
Out of the struggle came glory and fame for both; but 
the untold suffering and horror of the conflict outweighed 
all its honors, and it should prove to be an everlasting 
warning against sectional passion and prejudice in 
the future. 

In point of numbers the contest was unequal. The 



SUMMING UP OF CONTENDING OPINION 317 

North had 23 States, with a population of 21,000,000. The 
South had 11 States, with a population of 9,000,000, of 
which less than 6,000,000 were white. The North had also 
a population that was steadily expanding" in the West and 
Northwest, swelled by a great tide of immigration from 
which several hundred thousand men were drawn for 
service in the war. Neither side was prepared for the con- 
flict, but the North had unequalled resources in its manu- 
factures, and, through its access to foreign markets, an 
unlimited opportunity for increasing them and for making 
all things necessary for war. The North had varied in- 
dustries, and was supplied with food in abundance from its 
western farmlands. It contained nearly all the armories 
and arsenals of the government. Moreover, the prestige 
of the Federal government as the central authority of the 
federated Republic for over seventy years had great 
weight abroad. It had an established treasury, an army, 
and a navy, the last being of the utmost importance in 
finally deciding the issue. The North had three-fourths of 
the railway mileage and six-sevenths of the large cities. 
On the other hand, the South was lacking in every 
equipment for modern warfare. It contained but one can- 
non foundry and only a few small arsenals. Manufac- 
tories were practically non-existent within its borders. 
For a long time the Southern people had devoted them- 
selves to raising cotton and tobacco, and they even bought 
a great part of their food supplies from the Northern 
States, or abroad. Slavery was largely responsible for 
this lack of diversity in occupations and products, a con- 
dition that seriously handicapped the South, if it was 
not the principal cause of ultimate failure. At the same 
time, slavery was of some advantage to the South in that 



318 DIVISION AND REUNION: 1860-1877 

the slaves turned to the raising- of foodstuffs for the 
Southern armies and people. Moreover, the presence of 
an undeveloped people had played its part in producing 
a race of men unsurpassed in traits of courage and force 
of character.^ ^ In military operations the Confederacy 
had an advantage in defending inner lines in its own 
territory; but this advantage was offset by the lack of 
a Confederate navy to prevent Federal blockades or Fed- 
eral invasion by means of the great inland water routes. 
The far South laid particular stress upon the influence of 
its enormous production of cotton to enable the Confeder- 
acy to secure supplies from abroad or even intervention 
on the part of foreign powers. This, they thought, would 
more than offset the recognized preponderance of the sea 
power of the Federal government. But this supposed 
asset did the South little or no good. There was almost 
no opportunity to export Southern products, and although 
the Cotton States had furnished seven-eighths of the 
world ^s raw cotton, it so happened that at the outbreak 
of the war, the world was overstocked with this commod- 
ity. Nevertheless, Southern leaders firmly believed that 
the demand for cotton would be so great that the European 
powers would intervene.^ ^ 

^" See Burke: Speech on Conciliation with America. Up to the last, in 
the midst of great temptation, the negroes were devoted and faithful — the 
most remarkable tribute in history to the character of a dominant race — • 
Americans almost wholly of Anglo-Celtic stock. 

" Prior to the war, the South had been well described as " one great 
farm " — and one which, in the Cotton Belt, at least, imported its own food- 
stuffs in meat and grain. " Whence," asked a Charleston newspaper of its 
readers, " whence come your axes, hoes, scythes ? Yes, even your plows, 
harrows, rakes, axe and auger handles? Your furniture, carpets, calicoes, 
and muslins? The cradle that rocks your infant, the top your boy spins, 
the doll your girl caresses, the clothes your children wear, the books from 
which they are educated . . .all are imported into South Carolina." 



FIRST BATTLE OF BULL RUN 319 

The first aggressive movements of Federal armies in 
the East were carried out in western Virginia by General 
George B. McClellan. These movements ^ ^ , „ 

"=" Federal Successes 

were successful and led to the permanent o?Ve^^stateTf"°" 
holding of much of that part of the State, ^^^* Virginia 
which was inclined to be Northern in sympathy. Later, 
steps were taken to divide Virginia, and the new State of 
West Virginia was formed and admitted into the Union 
during the progress of the war.^^ 

Minor engagements in the eastern section of the State 
resulted in the defeat of the Federal forces. Although 
war had been declared in April, the main Federal army 
of the East was not believed to be prepared for battle until 
July. By the middle of that month. General Irvin 
McDowell, with 30,000 men, pushed into Vir- 
ginia in answer to the popular cry of ^'On to of^Buii Run 
Richmond! '' Opposing McDowell was a Con- 
federate force of 20,000 men under General Beauregard. 
They were posted at Bull Run near Manassas, on the rail- 
way route to Richmond. Across the Blue Ridge Moun- 
tains there was an additional Confederate force of 9000 
men under General Joseph E. Johnston. This force was 
to be kept engaged by an army of 20,000 men under Gen- 
eral Robert Patterson, whose duty it was to prevent 
Johnston from uniting with Beauregard. 

When, however, McDowell attacked Beauregard on 
July 21, Johnston, with 6000 men, had succeeded in eluding 

^* Some of those who had opposed the secession of Virginia met at 
Wheeling in June, 1861. This group declared they represented the Com- 
monwealth of Virginia and chose Francis H. Pierpont provisional governor. 
On the basis of this claim they creat-ed the new State of West Virginia. 
Their action was subsequently sanctioned by Congress and by President 
Lincoln's proclamation of April 20, 1863. 



320 DIVISION AND REUNION: 1860-1877 

Patterson. This included the command of T. J. Jackson. 
McDowell attacked vigorously, and at first all went well 
for the Union army ; but, just as the Confederates seemed 
doomed to defeat, Jackson made a bayonet charge and the 
remainder of Johnston's army arrived from the Valley 
of Virginia. The Union repulse was soon followed by a 
general retreat; and the retreat, in turn, became a panic, 
especially on the part of the militia. The total losses 
were: Union, 2896 killed, wounded, and missing; Con- 
federate, 1982. 

The result of the battle of Bull Run, or Manassas, 
as it was called by the Confederates, did not discourage 
the Federal Administration ; it rather increased its deter- 
mination to win ; and President Lincoln promptly issued 
a call for 500,000 additional volunteers. While Southern 
military leaders who had seen service in Mexico urged 
the importance of a movement on Washington, the Con- 
federate Government seemed unwilling at this time to 
make any attempt at invasion of Federal territory. 

The Southern Confederacy now determined to ask 
for recognition by foreign powers as a regularly organ- 
ized and acting government. Accordingly, in the autumn 
of 1861, James M. Mason and John Slidell were appointed 
commissioners to Great Britain and France, respectively. 
The Confederate commissioners succeeded in running the 
The Trent federal blockade to Cuba. From Cuba, they 
^^^^^ took passage on the British mail steamer Trent. 
On November 8, 1861, this vessel was stopped by Captain 
Wilkes of the United States ship San Jacinto, and the 
Confederate commissioners were seized and taken to Bos- 
ton as prisoners. Great Britain at once demanded an 
apology for the action of Captain Wilkes, together with 



CAPTURE OF FORTS HENRY AND DONELSON 321 

the release of Mason and Slidell. Although Congress had 
approved the proceeding, Lincoln admitted that the seiz- 
ure was wrong, and the commissioners were given up. 

The Federal plan of campaign for 1862 included (1) 
the invasion of Virginia and the capture of the Confeder- 
ate capital; (2) a general advance with the object of 
dividing the Confederacy by the line of the Mississippi 
River. This involved the southward movement 

j^ • • T^ i. 1 T m • Federal Plan 

01 armies m Kentucky and Tennessee m gen- of campaign 
era! cooperation with g*unboats and other ves- 
sels descending the Mississippi from above and a Federal 
fleet attacking New Orleans and opening up the river 
from below, (3) the maintenance of an effective blockade 
of the ports on the Atlantic coast and the Gulf of Mexico. 
It was this third part of the general plan which lasted 
throughout the war and served to strangle the armies 
and people of the Southern Confederacy. 

Aggressive movements were begun first in the West. 
In February the Union forces under General Ulysses S. 
Grant and Commodore Foote captured Fort Henry on the 
Tennessee River, a success shortly followed by the capture 
of Fort Donelson on the Cumberland.^ '' Accompanied by 
a fleet of gunboats, General Grant moved Capture of Forts 
the Army of the Tennessee up the river fnTfhrBawf o'f°° 
of that name. Near Shiloh church, Grant ^^'^°^ 
halted to await the arrival of General Buell, who had 
in the meantime occupied Nashville. Twenty miles dis- 
tant was a Confederate army under General Albert Sidney 
Johnston, who advanced in an effort to defeat Grant be- 
fore Buell could unite with him. Johnston fell upon 

^^The Confederate losses in the defense and surrender of these posts 
amounted to over 12.000 men. The Federal loss was comparatively small. 

21 



322 DIVISION AND REUNION: 1860-1877 

Grant ^s army on April 6 at Sliiloh. The Confederates 
were at first victorious ; but as Johnston was pressing his 
advantage, this Confederate leader, rated as one of the 
ablest commanders on either side, fell mortally wounded. 
Thereupon, the Confederate attack became disorganized ; 
Buell came forward to the aid of Grant, and at the end of 
a two days^ battle the Confederates were compelled to 
retreat. The losses on either side were nearly equal, 
amounting in both armies to about 20,000 killed, Avounded, 
and captured. 

Shiloh was the severest battle that had yet taken place 
during the war, and it resulted in the first serious break 
in the Confederate line of defense on land. After the 
battle of Shiloh, General Halleck took command of the 
Effects of Western army. He now had a force of 100,000 
the Battle j^gj^, and General Beauregard, in command of 
the smaller Confederate araiy, withdre\y from Corinth 
to Tupelo, Mississippi. In the fall of Corinth, the second 
line of defense of the Confederates in the West was 
broken, and their railroad system between the East and 
the West was cut in two. 

By the end of April, Commodore David G. Farragut 
had entered the Mississippi River from the south; and 
after running by Forts Jackson and St. Philip mth war- 
ships and gunboats, he defeated a small Confederate fleet 
and captured the city of New Orleans. General Butler, 
with a force of 14,000 men, was placed in 
New"orieans commaud of the city, and Farragut passed up 
the Mississippi, securing the surrender of 
every town on the river as far as Vicksburg within the 
next two months. Shortly after the fall of New Orleans, 
the Federal gunboats, continuing their attack from above, 



THE FIRST IRONCLADS 323 

descended the Mississippi to Memphis, which was hemmed 
in on the east by Federal armies. On June 6, the city 
surrendered, subsequently to a Federal victory over some 
Confederate vessels engaged in the defense of the river 
at that point. 

In the meantime a combat had taken place in Hampton 
Roads that was destined to change the naval warfare 
of the world. During the previous year, when the Federal 
forces had abandoned Norfolk, they had scuttled and 
sunk the Merrimac, a wooden frigate. As the Confederate 
government had no navy. Captain John Mercer Brooke 
conceived the idea of raising the Merrimac and ^j^^ ^.^.^^ 
placing upon it a roof -like armor of locomotive i^'o'^ciads 
track rails and iron plates. This was accordingly done, 
and after many months oi preparation, the Merrimac, 
renamed the Virginia , steamed out of the harbor of 
Norfolk to attack the Federal fleet near Fortress Monroe. 
Equipped with but ten guns, and accompanied by two tiny 
gunboats, she advanced to meet the fire of the whole Fed- 
eral fleet, totaling over 300 guns. In a short time she sank 
the Cumberland and destroyed the Congress, although the 
crews of both vessels fought this new and apparently 
invincible foe with unsurpassed courage. In addition, the 
Virginia caused the Minnesota, the St. Laivrence, and the 
Roanoke to run aground. She then turned back to Nor- 
folk, planning on the following day to complete the 
destruction of the Federal fleet. 

At this critical juncture, however, there appeared in 
Hampton Roads a small armored antagonist, constructed 
of better material and after a more serviceable fashion. 
This vessel was the Monitor, equipped with but two large 
guns set in a revolving turret. It was designed by a Swede 



324 



DIVISION AND REUNION: 1860-1877 



named John Ericsson and was likened to a ^ ' cheese box on 
a raff The Virginia was larger, but slow and very 
unwieldy; its engines were defective, and at best could 
make but four to six miles an hour. The Monitor, on the 
other hand, was agile, and, because of its revolving turret, 
could train its gnins on its antagonist from any position. 
After a fierce duel of several hours' duration, without 
decided advantage to either vessel, Captain Worden of 




THE MONITOR AND THE VIRGINIA (mERRIMAC) 

(From a painting by W. F. Halsall, in the Capitol at Washington.) 

the Monitor was badly wounded and the Monitor withdrew 
to shallow water where the Virginia could not follow her.^^ 

" The name Virginia is used here instead of the more generally used 
Merrimac because this was the name under which she fought. Moreover, it 
should be clearly understood that Captain Brooke, an American, planned 
the first ironclad that proved its worth in battle. When it was learned 
that the Confederates were reconstructing the Merrimac with armor plates, 
Ericsson set to work to build an armored vessel that could give her com- 
bat on equal terms, and such was the rapidity of its construction that both 
ships were ready at about the same time. The success of the Virginia in 
the first fight with the Federal fleet and her duel with the Monitor revolu- 
tionized the naval warfare of the world. It should also be remembered 
that the revolving turret, which became an important feature of modem 
warfare, was the invention of an Ame^'ican, T. R. Timhy. 



CAMPAIGN AGAINST RICHMOND 325 

The Virginia, with its battering ram broken off from 
collision with the Cumberland, and having sustained other 
injuries, retired to Norfolk for repairs. When it again 
appeared some weeks later, the Monitor and the other 
Federal vessels refused its terrible challenge to battle, 
and retreated under the guns of Fortress Monroe. 
Neither ironclad took any further important part in the 
war, and the Virginia was burned by the Confederates 
upon the evacuation of Norfolk. 

During the first two months of 1862, the best equipped 
of the Federal armies was, except for constant drilling 
under the direction of General McClellan, kept inactive 
in the vicinity of Washington, although it was nearly three 
times as large as the Confederate force immediately op- 
posed to it at Manassas, under General Joseph E. 
Johnston. By April, it developed that the Federal com- 
mander was preparing to advance upon Richmond by way 
of Chesapeake Bay and the York peninsula. General 
Johnston accordingly retreated from Manassas to meet 
the attack by water. In pursuance of his plan, McClellan 
landed more than 100,000 men near Fortress Monroe. At 
Yorktown, a force of 11,000 Confederates under „ ^, „ , 

' ' McClellan's 

General Magruder delayed the Federal com- AgSn^s?" 
mander until he was reinforced by Johnston, ^^^^^^^^^ 
who assumed command of the Confederate armies in Vir- 
ginia. Johnston, however, was forced to withdraw up 
the peninsula ; but on May 5, there was heavy fighting at 
Williamsburg. Here the Federal van was repulsed. This 
check, however, was temporary, and McClellan continued 
to advance until he had taken up a position within sight 
of the church spires of Richmond. Johnston's defensive 
force consisted of 63,000 men ; but the latter now assumed 



326 



DIVISION AND REUNION: 1860-1877 




the offensive and attacked IMcClellan vigorously in the 
battle of Seven Pines, or Fair Oaks, which continued 
through May 31 and June 1. In this engagement General 

Johnston was seriously wounded and 
Robert E. Lee was put in command 
of the Confederate army, while 
McClellan sent urgent dispatches to 
Washington for reinforcements from 
McDowell's army of 40,000 men then 
in the neighborhood of Manassas, 

McClellan 's expectations of ob- 
taining reinforcements were not 
realized, however, because of the 
rajjid movements and brilliant tac- 
tics of "Stonewall" Jackson in the 
Valley of Virginia, over one hundred 
miles away. Here Jackson was in 
command of 15,000 men and was 
watched by two Federal armies, 
commanded by Generals Fremont 
and Banks, respectively. After being 
repulsed by a strong Federal force 
under Shields in the battle of Kerns- 
town in March, Jackson had re- 
treated; but, about the first of May, 
he advanced rapidly across the Val- 
ley and fell upon and defeated a part 
of Fremont's army at McDowell. 
Without losing any time, he followed up this victory by 
driving before him a part of Banks 's army at Front Royal. 
Continuing down the Valley towards Harper's Ferry, 
Jackson defeated another part of Banks's army at New- 



GEORGE B. MCCLELLAN 

Born Philadelphia, Dec. 
3, 1826. Was graduated at 
West Point, 184G; served 
■with honor in Mexican 
war, receiving several pro- 
motions under Scott; sent 
abroad in 1855 to study 
European army organiza- 
tion in Crimean war; re- 
signed and became railroad 
official in the West; com- 
missioned Major-General 
at outbreak of War of Se- 
cession; appointed general- 
in-chief, U.S.A., on retire- 
ment of General Scott; 
organized an efficient army 
after Bull Run defeat; 
checked in an advance on 
Richmond and relieved 
from command; again took 
command after Pope's de- 
feat at second Bull Run; 
blockaded Confederate ad- 
vance into Maryland, but 
was a second time relieved 
of command; unsuccessful 
candidate for President in 
1864; elected governor 
New Jersey, 1877. Died 
1885. 



CAMPAIGN AGAINST RICHMOND 327 

town, and on the next day routed the main body at 
Wmchester, driving it across the Potomac. General 
Shields, with a division from McDowell's army, was now 
sent into the Valley to cooperate with Fremont and crush 
Jackson's small force. But before Shields could unite 
with Fremont, Jackson defeated the latter at Cross Keys 
on the 8 til of June, and, turning around the southern end 
of the Massanutten Mountain, defeated Shields at Port 
Republic on the f ollomng day. 

Jackson had carried out this campaign under instruc- 
tions from General Lee, who had directed him to endeavor 
to clear the Valley of Federal troops, to threaten Wash- 
ington, and then to join him in the defense of Richmond. 
This movement had the effect hoped for in that it changed 
the Federal anticipation of success to a feeling of serious 
apprehension for the safety of the capital. M'cDowell's 
force, therefore, was called upon to protect the defenses 
of Washington. Within the space of a month, Jackson's 
army had marched 400 miles and had fought six pitched 
battles, together with a nmnber of minor engagements. 
Moreover, it had captured thousands of prisoners and a 
quantity of supplies that were badly needed by the Con- 
federates. Jackson now marched rapidly out of the 
Valley in order to reinforce Lee before Richmond. 

When Lee learned that Jackson w^as ready to join him, 
thereby increasing his forces to 80,000 men, he prepared 
to attack McClellan, who had 105,000 men. On June 26 
Lee attacked McClellan at Mechanicsville, the latter with- 
drawing at the end of the day to Gaines ' Mill and Cold 
Harbor, where, on the following day, the Confederates 
were victorious. McClellan was now obliged to abandon 



328 



DIVISION AND REUNION: 1860-1877 



his plans, and to withdraw in the direction of the James 
River. Lee followed closely, giving battle at Savage Sta- 
tion, Frazer's Farm, and finally at Malvern Hill, where 
the Federal forces made a stubborn stand and repulsed the 

Confederate advance; 
I ~~^ ' ~^-^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^^ night after the 

last battle, McClellan 
gave up the hard-fought 
field, and proceeded down 
the river to secure the 
protection of the Federal 
fleet. 

The fighting in these 
Seven Days' battles was 
extremely severe, and 
both armies acquitted 
themselves with honor. 
McClellan and his corps 
commanders had man- 
aged their retreat skil- 
fully, and had inflicted a 
loss of 20,000 men upon 
the Confederates, the 
Union loss being 16,000. Lincoln now ordered McClellan 
to the defenses of Washington, and appointed General 
Halleck commander-in-chief of the Federal 
forces, at the same time calling for 300,000 more 
men. General John Pope was placed in imme- 
diate command of the army in Virginia, which was later 
known as the Army of the Potomac. 

In the meantime, one of the greatest problems both 
governments were obliged to face was that of meeting 




ROBERT EDWARD LKB 

Born Westmoreland County, Virginia, 
January 19, 1807. Graduate West Point; 
served with especial distinction under Scott in 
war with Mexico, 1847; superintendent West 
Point, 1852-'58; declined command of Fed- 
eral Army after secession of Virginia; entered 
service of his State; appointed, 1862, to com- 
mand of Army of Northern Virginia; elected 
president of Washington College, Lexington, 
Virginia. Died October 12, 1870. 



Halleck 

Succeeds 

McClellan 



SECOND BATTLE OF BULL RUN 329 

the expenses of the tremendous conflict, extending over 
thousands of miles of territory and covering the equip- 
ment and services of millions of men. In the Confederacy 
the suffering was already severe, and destined to ^^^^ ^^ 
grow worse as time went on. In the North, the ^^® ^^"^ 
prestige of an established government and its organized 
resources maintained a better credit, although the banks 
suspended specie payment in the latter part of 1861. The 
expenses of the Federal govermneht had mounted to two 
million dollars a day, rising later to three million dollars 
a day and over. Congress, now under the control of the 
Republican party, increased the protective tariff greatly, 
and continued to increase the duties for several years. 

Some weeks subsequent to the Seven Days' battles 
and McClellan's withdrawal from the York peninsula. 
General Pope began to assume the aggressive in the neigh- 
borhood of Washington. He called to his command the 
defeated armies of Banks and Fremont from the Valley, 
while McClellan's army was to be transferred by detach- 
ments to the army near Manassas. As soon as these plans 
became apparent. General Lee ordered Jackson to march 
against Pope before McClellan's detachments could join 
him. Jackson moved rapidly, and successfully attacked 
Banks's corps of Pope's army at Cedar Run, AugTist 9. 

On the 29th and 30th of August, Lee and Jackson 
united in defeating Pope on the former battlefield of 
Bull Run, or Manassas, and Pope's army retreated to 
Washington in almost as great a state of panic 
as the forces of McDowell had been in the pre- of buii Run, 

' of Manassas 

vious year. The Confederate ranks, however, 

were greatly reduced by this succession of battles, the 

soldiers were ill clad and lacked in a great measure pro- 



330 DIVISION AND REUNION: 1860-1877 

visions and mmiitions of war. Nevertheless, the Con- 
federate commander now prepared to cross the Potomac, 
in the hope that a successful invasion of the North would 
end the war and lead to the recognition of the Southern 
Confederacy by foreign governments. 

In accordance with this plan, Jackson was ordered to 
drive the Federal troops out of the northern end of the 
Shenandoah Valley into Harper's Ferry and 
Adva^nc^einto to capturc that strongliold. This he accom- 
plished by September 15, capturing 12,500 men 
and valuable munitions of war; whereupon he imme- 
diately marched to join Lee in western Maryland. 

In the meantime. Pope had been superseded by Mc- 
Clellan, who had again been called to the command of the 
Federal army, and who was ready to move from Wash- 
ington on September 5. The advance guards of the 
hostile armies met in the mountains not far from 
Frederick ; and here, fortunately for McClellan, a copy of 
Lee 's plan of campaign was discovered, the same having 
been mislaid or lost through the carelessness of a Con- 
federate officer. 

McClellan promptly took advantage of his opportunity 
and marched to attack Lee while Jackson was engaged 
in the capture of Harper's Ferry. At South Mountain 
a sharp fight occurred, in which the surprised Confederate 
forces barely held McClellan 's army in check to enable 
Lee partially to prepare for battle. At Sharpsburg, on 
Antietam Creek, the armies met in a general engagement 
on September 17. Every foot of ground was stubbornly 
contested by both armies and the losses were unparalleled 
in proportion to the numbers engaged. The Federal losses 
in killed and wounded amounted to 11,600 men, the Con- 



PROCLAMATION OF EMANCIPATION 



331 



federate somewhat greater, or over 11,700. Although the 
Confederate losses were about twice as heavy as the Fed- 
eral in proportion to the number of men engaged in the 
battle, Lee awaited McClellan's attack the whole of the 
day following this bloody conflict. During that night he 
retired across the Potomac River at Shepherdstown, 
where there was a sharp engagement in which the Federal 




PRESIDENT LINCOLN AND HIS CABINET OFFICERS 

Secretary of State William H. Seward is seated at the table on the right; Secretary of War 
Edwin M. Stanton is seated at the left. 

advance was repulsed. McClellan 's forces on the field of 
Antietam were 87,000 men. Tlie fighting strength of 
Lee, including Jackson's reinforcements, amounted to 
37,000 men. 

Some months prior to the battle of Antietam, Presi- 
dent Lincoln had prepared a proclamation for the emanci- 
pation of such slaves as were in territory then occupied 
by those engaged in active resistance to Federal authority. 



332 DIVISION AND REUNION: 1860-1877 

This proclamation was issued by the President as a 
war measure intended not only to embarrass the Confed- 
eracy by the promise of freedom to the slaves 
EmaSa\'?onfo lu the scccdcd Statcs, but to enlist the moral 
ll^cIIIiJS support of the world in favor of the Federal 

cause. Lincoln did not believe, however, that 
he had the constitutional right to liberate the slaves of 
citizens in loyal territory or in territory controlled by the 
Federal armies; consequently the proclamation did not 
apply to the States of Delaware, Maryland, West Vir- 
ginia, Kentucky, and Missouri, and portions of Yirginia, 
Tennessee, and Louisiana. The proclamation was to take 
effect on the first of January, 1863. ' 

McClellan now prepared to advance once more upon 
Richmond, this time wholly by land ; but to the authorities 
at Washington his movements seemed too slow, so that 
he was again removed from command, and 
sul?iedt General Ambrose E. Burnside was appointed 

Ba«ilof"' to succeed him. Burnside advanced rapidly 
to the Rappahannock, opposite Fredericks- 
burg, whither Lee marched to confront him. Here Lee 
occupied a strongly fortified position, and although the 
Federal army attacked him in a series of gallant charges, 
it was completely repulsed. In the battle of Fredericks- 
burg the Federal forces were about double those of the 
Confederates, and their losses were more than twice as 
great, being upwards of 12,000 men.^^ 

In the West the latter half of the year saw the Federal 
armies engaged in an effort to penetrate still farther the 

"At Aiitietam, as in the battles before Richmond, McClellan inflicted 
losses greater than those he received. The opposite is true of the otker 
Federal commanders in the contest with the Array of Northern Virginia 
under the leadership of Lee. 



CAMPAIGNS IN THE WEST 



333 



Confederate defense, and to secure the line of the Missis- 
sippi. An important objective point was Chattanooga, in 
southern Tennessee, through which the railroads ran 
northeastward to Richmond, and southeast- cam ai ns 
ward to Atlanta. There was a great deal of '"^ ^^^ ^^^* 
indecisive fighting, marching and countermarching on the 
part of the Confederate forces under Generals Braxton 
Bragg and E. Kirby Smith. The lat- 
ter Avon a victory at Richmond, 
Kentucky, and greatly alarmed the 
northern cities along the Ohio. Buell, 
however, was heavily reinforced and 
turned upon Bragg at Perrj^ville, 
Kentucky. Here a battle was fought 
on October 8, after which Bragg re- 
tired before the superior numbers of 
his antagonists. The Confederates 
hoped that Bragg 's movement into 
Kentucky would loosen the hold of 
the Federals under Grant and Rose- 
crans. At Corinth, the Confederate 
Generals Van Dorn and Price at- 
tacked the Federal forces on October 
3 and 4, but were defeated with 
heavy losses. 

General Grant now led the Army 
of the Tennessee through Mississippi 
against the Confederate fortifica- 
tions at Vicksburg. He also ordered 
an army under General William T. Sherman to proceed 
along the line of the Mississippi River to cooperate with 
the movement. Grant 's plan of campaign, however, was 




WILLIAM T. SHERMAN 

Born Lancaster, C, 
February 8, 1820. Gradu- 
ate of West Point, 1840; 
resigned from service, 1850; 
practised law in Leaven- 
worth, Kan.; superintend- 
ent of Military Academy 
in Louisiana; returned 
north and was appointed 
Colonel, U. S. A., prior to 
battle of Bull Run; after- 
wards served with distinc- 
tion in the west, and was 
rapidly promoted; ap- 
pointed brigadier-general, 
1863; in 1864-1865 
marched through centre 
of Confederacy from the 
northwest to the sea and 
to North Carolina, where 
he received the surrender 
of General Jos. E. John- 
ston, April 26, 1865. Died 
1891. 



384 



DIVISION AMD REUNION: 1860-1877 




completely overturned by the rapid movements of General 
Van Dorn, who destroyed his supplies at Holly Springs, 
Mississippi, where also the Confederate cavalry under 
General N. B. Forrest cut the railroad in his rear. Grant 
was now compelled to retreat, and Shennan was defeated 

at Chickasaw Bayou by a Confederate^ 
force under General Stephen D. Lee. 
General Rosecrans now replaced 
Buell in command of the Federal 
army in Kentucky. He advanced 
against Bragg, and the armies met 
on the last day of the year in the 
battle of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. 
The engagement was indecisive in its 
results, and was renewed on January 
2. This proved to be a drawn battle, 
and both armies were so badly shat- 
tered that neither assumed the 
aggressive for several months there- 
after. 

The results of the second year of 
fighting may be said to have been on 
the whole favorable to the Federal government, whose 
land and naval forces had recovered much of Tennessee 
and Arkansas and had secured the greater part of the 
Mississippi River both above and below. On 
the Atlantic coast more Confederate forts had 
been captured, and the blockade caused increasing dis- 
tress in the South. On the other hand, considerable oppo- 
sition to the prosecution of the war had developed in the 
North, and the Republican majority in Congress had been 
reduced. It was necessary for several States to use the 



NATHAN B. FORREST 

Born Bedford County, 
Tennessee, July 13, 1821. 
Had no military training; 
entered Confederate service 
as private; showed excep- 
tional talent for war and 
rose to lieutenant-general; 
as such was rated by Grant 
and Sherman as their most 
formidable foe in the West; 
after the war, became leader 
of Ku Klux Klan, 1867- 
'69. Died 1877. 



LEE'S SECOND NORTHWARD MOVEMENT 335 



draft in raising their quotas of troops, and free speech 
was curtailed by Federal authority. 

In January, 1863, General Bumside was superseded 
by General Joseph E. Hooker, but the Federal anny did 
not become active until April, when it began a movement 
on Ghancellorsville, south of the Rappahannock. On the 
]st, 2nd, and 3rd of May battles were fought. 
Prior to these engagements Lee divided his ^'^^"""^"^^^i^ 
army before a much larger force and sent Jackson with 
the greater part to attack Hooker's right fiank and rear. 
The movement was highly successful 
for the Confederates ; but the victory ,- ^, 

cost them the services of ^* Stone- 
wall'' Jackson, as that noted leader 
fell mortally wounded by the fire of 
his own men, who mistook him and 
those with him for an opposing force. 

After the victory of Ghancellors- 
ville, Lee again led the Army of 
Northern Virginia northward. Al- 
though the movement was conducted 
as secretly as possible, it was 
soon reported to General Hooker, 
who sent foi-ward a strong cavalry 
and infantry force. These were re- 
pulsed by the Gonfederates under 
Stuart in one of the severest cav- 
alry engagements of the war. In 
the meantime. General Milroy and 
the Federal forces were being driv(^n from the Valley of 
Virginia by the Confederate General Fwell. 

The Army of the Potomac moved northward on the 




THOMAS J. (stonewall) 
JACKSON 

Born Clarksljurg, Vir- 
ginia (West Virginia), Jan- 
uary 21, 1824. Graduate 
of West Point; served with 
distinction in War with 
Mexico, 1846-47; re- 
ceived title of ' ' Stonewall" 
at first battle of Bull Run, 
or Manassas; won notable 
successes in Valley of Vir- 
ginia and with Army of 
Northern Virginia; shot at 
Ghancellorsville through 
mistake of Gonfederate 
troops. Died May 10, 1863. 



336 



DIVISION AND REUNION: 1860-1877 



Lee's Second 
Northward 
Movement; 
Battle of 
Gettysburg 



east side of the Blue Ridge with General George G. Meade 
in command in pkice of Hooker. It was Lee 's 
plan to gain control of several of the Penn- 
sylvania cities, and to threaten Washington, 
Baltimore, and Philadelphia, preparing, in 
addition, to engage the Federal Army wherever it 
should be met. In order to be informed of the Federal 

movements, he had instructed the 
cavalry under General Stuart to 
keep to his right as the army 
moved north. Stuart, however, 
rode to the eastward of the Fed- 
eral army, became temporarily 
cut off from communication with 
Lee and did not join the main 
army until the second day of the 
battle of Gettysburg. In conse- 
quence of this, the Confederate 
leader was not kept informed of 
the movements of Meade, and 
the latter part of June: he found 
himself in close proximity to the 
Federal forces much sooner than 
he had expected. In fact, neither 
army was aware of the near ap- 
proach of the other in south- 
em Pennsylvania. 
A skirmish was brought on by the meeting in Gettys- 
burg of a Confederate brigade and a portion of the Fed- 
eral army. This was on the 30th of June. Immediately, 
both commanders made hurried efforts to advance and 
concentrate their forces. Early in the afternoon of July 1, 




GEORGE GOKDON MEADE 

Born Cadiz, Spain, December 
31, 1815. Graduate West Point; 
served under Taylor in Mexican 
War, 1 846-' 47; commissioned 
brigadier-general of volunteers, 
1861; after wounding of Hooker 
in battle of Antietam, in com- 
mand of First Corps; succeeded 
Hooker as commander of Army of 
the Potomac, June 28, 1863; com- 
manded at Gettysburg; later ap- 
pointed major-general regular 
army. Died Philadelphia, No- 
vember, 1872. 



BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG 



337 



Lee's advance columns attacked the Federal cavalry and 
infantry at Gettysburg'. Severe fighting took place, in 
which the Confederates were at first driven back with 
heavy losses. In the latter part of the afternoon, however, 
they were reinforced, and after desperate fighting the 
Federals were in turn defeated and forced back. The 
Confederate advance was then stopped by order of 
General Ewell, and both armies began to occupy opposing 
heights or ridges, the Federals occupying Cemetery Hill 
and the Confederates, Seminary Ridge. 

It was the intention of General Lee to begin the battle 




BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG (bY ROTHERMEL) 

early on the morning of July 2, but owing to the slowness 
of General Longstreet, the attack was not begun until the 
afternoon. Fortunately for the Union forces. General 
Sedgwick, in striking contrast to the tardy movements 
of Longstreet, had made one of the greatest marches of 
the war, he and his corps having covered thirty-four miles 
during the night and morning to get into position for the 
fighting of the second day. On the other hand, the Con- 
federate assault, when finally made, was so fierce that 
the Federal troops w^ere driven back for a time with 
22 



338 DIVISION AND REUNION: 1860-1887 

great slaughter. The latter were heavily reinforced, 
however, and the Confederate right wing was held in 
check with a loss, at the close of the day, of some portion 
of the ground that it had gained. 

On July 3, as on the previous day, it was Lee 's inten- 
tion to make an attack early in the morning, but, 
Longstreet again failed to attack until the afternoon. 
In the meantime, General Meade had strengthened his 
entrenchments and had been reinforced by all the troops 
within reach, while Ewell, on the Confederate left, was 
being driven back from Culp's Hill. Early in the after- 
noon, while the cannonading of the entire available artil- 
lery of the two armies seemed to shake the earth, a force 
of 14,000 Confederates charged the Federal position on 
Cemetery Hill, and though their ranks were swept by the 
most terrific fire any attacking force had yet encountered 
during the war, they seized and held for a space of twenty 
minutes the center of the Federal lines. They were, how- 
ever, compelled to withdraw after terrible losses, and thus 
ended the three days' battle of Gettysburg. As at 
Antietam in the previous year, Lee awaited a Federal 
attack the whole of the following day, and then ordered a 
retreat. Both armies had acquitted themselves with 
glory. The Union losses in this great battle have been 
estimated at 23,000 men, while the Confederate loss was 
somewhat smaller, or about 20,400. The Federal army 
numbered 90,000 to 100,000 men, and the Confederate 
strength was between 62,000 and 75,000. No further en- 
gagements occurred between the Eastern armies during 
the remainder of the year, and the battle of Gettysburg is 
said to have marked the high tide of Confederate fortunes. 

Lee's withdrawal from the North relieved a serious 



FALL OF VICKSBURG 339 

political tension in that section, where the war had become, 
in some of the States, increasingly unpx)pular because of 
its long continuance and on account of the forced drafts 
made by the Federal government to fill the ranks 
of the Union armies. In July fierce and contin- and*^^*^ 
ued rioting had occurred in New York City. It 
was estimated that over 1000 persons were killed during 
the four days' fighting between citizens on the one side, 
and militia. Federal troops, and police on the other. 
Nevertheless, although the Federal currency or green- 
backs had depreciated in value, business in the 
North was extremely active, and great fortunes were 
being accumulated. 

In the West, after a siege which had lasted more than 
five months. General Grant finally captured Vicksburg, 
the strongest Confederate post on the Mississippi River. 
Tliis surrender took place on the 4th of July, 1863, and 
was brought about largely by the efficient aid rendered the 
land forces by Admiral Porter and his fleet ^^^^ ^^ 
of gunboats and transports. A few days th'J^coSederacy 
later Port Hudson, the last of the Confeder- ^"* '"^ ^"^^ 
ate forts along the Mississippi River, surrendered to Gen- 
eral Banks, who was effectively assisted by the Federal 
fleet under Farragut. The Confederacy was now cut in 
two, and supplies from the southwest were shut off, 
causing even greater suffering than had before existed. 
In this sector of the battlefront, the summer months of 
1863 witnessed some of the most remarkable cavalry raids 
and exploits of the war. Confederate cavalry under 
Generals Forrest and Wheeler rode through western Ten- 
nessee up to Fort Donelson, while Generals Forrest and 
Van Dom captured a Federal detachment of 1300 men 



340 DIVISION AND REUNION: 1860-1877 

under Franklin. A Federal cavalry force of from 1500 
to 2000, under Colonel A. D. Streight, set out from Rose- 
crans^ army to destroy factories, mills, and supplies, 
and to cut Bragg 's railroad communications in Georgia. 
Forrest soon followed in the most prolonged pursuit and 
fiercest running engagement of the war. Streight and his 
men were finally compelled to surrender when not far from 
Rome, their objective point. In July, General John H. 
Morgan led a large force of Confederate cavalry on a raid 
through Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana, to cut Rosecrans' 
communications and to destroy railroads, mills, and fac- 
tories. Morgan and nearly all his men were finally cut 
off and captured. 

Fighting on a large scale was soon transferred to east- 
ern Tennessee and neighboring States. In September 
Rosecrans took possession of Chattanooga, which was 
considered the military key to that section of the country. 
From Chattanooga, he set out to pursue General Bragg, 
but the latter, reinforced by Longstreet^s corps from 
Lee's araiy, attacked Rosecrans on the 19th and 20th of 
Battle of September. The Federal right wing was shat- 
chickamauga ^^rcd, but the remainder of the araiy w^as saved 
by the determined stand of General Thomas, who, like 
^^Stonew^all" Jackson at the battle of Bull Run, stood his 
ground, and who was likewise given a special title of 
recognition, being known thereafter as the '^Rock of 
Chickamauga. " Thomas was, however, forced to with- 
draw after nightfall of the 20th. The battle- of Chicka- 
mauga, which took place on the 19th and 20th of Septem- 
ber, has been referred to by recent historians as, in its 
ratio of losses, the bloodiest battle of the war, while 
Sharpsburg or Antietam offered the bloodiest single day's 



OPERATIONS IN THE SOUTHWEST 341 

fighting. After the battle of CMckamauga, Rosecrans was 
superseded hy Thomas in the command of the Army of 
the Cumberland^ and Sherman was made commander of 
the Army of the Tennessee, the two armies being united 
in one military department under General Grant. 

Grant now carried out skillful movements to relieve 
Eosecrans ' army, which was besieged by Bragg in Chatta- 
nooga. The latter was compelled to detach Longstreet 
from his command in order to oppose Burnside, who had 
taken Knoxville, and was advancing upon Chattanooga. 
In this division of the Confederate forces, 

rn , 1 • X 'J. 1 A-r Lookout Mountain 

Grant saw his opportunity, and on N ovem- and 
ber 24 attacked Bragg 's left wing on Look- 
out Mountain. The attack was led by Hooker and a part 
of the Army of the Potomac sent west to retrieve the 
disaster at Chickamauga. Hooker was successful in his 
assault and Lookout Mountain was won by the Federal 
forces. The following day Thomas and Sherman assaulted 
the Confederate right on Missionary Ridge, where they 
were equally successful, causing Bragg to retreat into 
Georgia, and forcing Longstreet to withdraw before the 
combined forces of Burnside and Sherman. 

Early in February, 1864, Sherman marched from 
Vicksburg to Meridian, Mississippi, where he destroyed 
much railroad property. On February 22, however, 
Sherman's cavalry were defeated by General Forrest at 
Okolona, and Sherman was compelled to return to Vicks- 
burg. Forrest now marched into Tennessee and Kentucky 
and captured Fort Pillow on the Mississippi 

,^. » T . T-i T T • 1 Operations 

River. At the same time Federal armies under in the 

Southwest 

General Banks and General Steele were ordered 

to move northward from Louisiana and southward from 



M2 



DIVISION AND REUNION: 1860-1877 



Arkansas to gain complete control of the Southwest. Be^ 
fore these armies could unite, however, a Confederate 
force under General Richard Taylor defeated Banks near 
Mansfield on April 8, renewing the attack on the next day 
at Pleasant Hill, whereupon Banks retreated to southern 
Louisiana. Another Confederate force under General 
E. Kirby Smith met Steele in two battles at Mark's 
Mill and at Jenkins ' Ferry in the latter part of April and 
compelled the Federal commander to withdraw. 

In March Grant was called from his successful opera- 
^ , ^ . , ^ tions in the West and was appointed com- 

Grant Appointed ■■- ^ 

Fi'Srcampaign^'''^*' niander-iu-chief of all the Federal forces 
Against Lee witli the rank of Lieutenant-General. 

Grant at once summoned Sheridan from the West 
and placed him in command of the Federal cavalry. 

One army under General Franz 
Sigel held the lower Shenandoah 
Valley with the intention of break- 
ing Lee's communication with the 
West, while General Butler was 
to move up the James River 
from Fortress Monroe. Grant him- 
self relied upon an army of 122,000 
men to advance overland through the 
Wilderness to attack Lee. He accord- 
ingly crossed the Rapidan River, and 
early in May opened the campaign. 
On May 5 and 6 there was fierce fight- 
ing in the Wilderness, resulting from 
Grant's effort to outflank Lee and to 
move upon Richmond. The Federal 
losses amounted to 18,000 men and the army seemed in 




PHILIP H. SHERIDAN 
Born Albany, New 
York, March 6, 1831. 
Graduate West Point, 
1853; served with distinc- 
tion in the West and the 
East throughout the War of 
Secession ; appointed major- 
general. Commander Fifth 
Military District in the 
South during Reconstruc- 
tion. Died 1888. 



GRANT APPOINTED COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF 343 

imminent danger of serious defeat; but the Confederate 
charge on May 6 was halted upon the wounding of General 
Longstreet, who was pressing the Confederate advance. 
This delay gave Grant opportunity to reform his forces 
behind formidable breastworks. 

A few days later, Grant again tried to pass around 
Lee's right in the neighborhood of Spottsylvania Court 
House ; but Lee had arrived there before him. Powerful 
efforts were made on May 10, 12, and 18 to break the 
Confederate lines, and although the Confederate front 
was several times in great danger of being swept away, 
its lines were as often reformed, and Grant's purpose was 
foiled. Again, however, the Confederacy paid a heavy 
price for victory with the loss of another one of its great 
connnanders, when on May 11 General J. E. B. Stuart 
was mortally wounded. At Cold Harbor, on the 1st and 
3rd of June, Grant again attacked Lee, but was repulsed 
with the loss of 10,000 in killed and wounded. Having 
failed in his plans of approaching Richmond from the 
north. Grant now found himself on the east side of the 
Confederate capital. He therefore determined to cross 
the James River, and to approach Richmond from the 
south by way of Petersburg.^^ 

While the mighty struggle was going on between 
Grant and Lee, General Butler's anny of 40,000 had been 
defeated by General Beauregard on May 16. In the unde- 
fended Valley of Virginia, General Hunter had cut a wide 
swath of desolation with fire and sword. General Jubal A. 
Early, however, with a division from Lee's army, entered 

i« Control of the sea enabled Federal commanders to attack at any 
available point along the coast. 



344 DIVISION AND REUNION: 1860-1877 

the Valley and forced Hunter to withdraw. Lee now 
gave orders to General Early, as he had before ordered 
General Jackson to advance upon Washington with 
the same idea of causing a part of the Federal 
force in front of himself to be withdrawn for the defense 
of the Federal capital. General Early, therefore, crossed 
into Maryland, defeated General Lew Wallace at the 
Monocacy River, and appeared before the fortifications 
of Washington. He had prepared to attack the city, but 
was forced to give up the undertaking on account of large 
Federal reinforcements. His movement, although causing 
President Lincoln to call for additional volunteers to 
defend the capital, did not serve the purpose of tveakeninfj 
the aryyiy of General Grant. Early was soon forced to 
withdraw from the neighborhood of Washington, but 
advanced into Pennsylvania as far as Chambersburg, in 
which town the Confederate commander authorized de- 
struction of property in retaliation for the ravages of 
Hunter in the Shenandoah Valley. 

General Grant determined that the Confederate 
forces in the Shenandoah Valley must be checked, and 
sent General Philip H. Sheridan with a strong army to 
drive them out, to destroy the crops, and further to lay 
waste the Valley. Near Winchester, on September 19, 
Sheridan defeated Early, and again at Fisher's Hill 
on the 21st. 

While Sheridan was in Winchester on October 19, the 
Confederates surprised the Federal forces at Cedar Creek 
and defeated them ; but in the afternoon of the same day 
Sheridan rode up, rallied his men, and defeated the Con- 
federates, who now retreated up the Valley. This last 
Confederate advance northward through the Valley of 



SHERMAN'S CAMPAIGNS 345 

Virginia had produced no results of permanent value to 
the Confederacy. Grant 's forces still lay in front of Lee 
at Petersburg, and the subsequent loss of control of the 
Valley caused unparalleled suffering both in that section 
and in the Army of Northern Virginia during the remain- 
der of the war. 

On July 30 the Federal forces at Petersburg exploded 
a mine under the Confederate fortifications, hoping inmie- 
diately thereafter to break through before the Confeder- 
ate troops could recover from the surprise. Although the 
explosion created a great pit within the Confederate 
lines, the Federal troops were repulsed and lost thousands 
of men in the midst of the ^^ crater^' they had made. The 
^'Battle of the Crater'' ended the active fighting of Grant 
before Petersburg in 1864. The Federal general had 
failed in every attempt to crush Lee by frontal assault, 
and he had been equally unsuccessful in endeavoring to 
flank him. He now proposed to hold Petersburg in a state 
of siege and to extend his larger forces both to the right 
and to the left, in order to draw out Lee's diminishing 
numbers in a constantly expanding line of defense. 

In the West, General Sherman had under his direction 
the Army of the Cumberland, the Army of the Temiessee, 
and the Army of the Ohio. He followed a policy similar 
to that adopted later by Grant against Lee in that he 
employed one large force (the Army of the gherman's 
Cumberland) to press Johnston in front, fjf^fe^^" 
while he used other forces to outflank the west and south 
Confederates and to get in their rear. Sherman assaulted 
the Confederate lines at Dalton, Georgia, on May 8 and 9, 
without success, after which he turned the flank and 
threatened the rear of Johnston in the neighborhood of 



346 



DIVISION AND REUNION: 1860-1877 



Resaca. This movement compelled Johnston to fall back 
to that point, where further severe fighting took place 
without definite result, until Sheraian again outflanked 
Johnston and approached the latter 's rear. In the battle 
of Kenesaw Mountain on June 27, Sherman assaulted 
Johnston's position, but w^as repulsed with severe losses. 
During this campaign the Confederate ''warrior bishop," 
General Leonidas Polk, was killed. 

Unsuccessful in frontal attacks, Sherman resumed 
flanking tactics, and Johnston was compelled to retire to 

Atlanta, which he fortified in the 
hope of holding it and checking Sher- 
man's advance. At this time, how- 
ever, he was displaced by General 
John B. Hood. The latter adopted 
an aggressive policy instead of fol- 
lowing Johnston's plan of drawing 
Sherman still farther away from his 
base of supplies. Hood, how^ever, was 
unable to stop the Federal advance, 
and Atlanta was captured. Hood 
then moved northward with the hope 
of drawing Sherman after him, but 
the latter did not follow, because he 
felt confident that General Thomas 
was able to cope with the Confederate 
leader and to meet him with an equal 
or superior force in Tennessee. Sher- 
man 's judgment proved correct, for 
after the stubbornly fought but indecisive battle of 
Franklin on November 30, betw^een Hood's Army and a 
Federal force under General Schofield, Thomas joined 




GEORGE HENRY THOMAS 

Born Southampton Co., 
Virginia, July 31, 1816. 
Graduate Weat Point, 
1840; served in Mexican 
War under Taylor, 1846- 
'47; did not go with State 
in secession and was ap- 
pointed brigadier-general 
United States Volunteers, 
1861; won notable Union 
victory at Mill Springs, 
Kentucky, January, 1862; 
called "Rock of Chick- 
amauga"; crushed Confed- 
erate army under Hood 
at Nashville in last great 
battle in the West, De- 
cember 1864. Died March 
28, 1870. 



CONFEDERATE PURCHASE OF WAR VESSELS 347 

Schofield, and together they defeated Hood on December 
15 and 16 in the battle of Nashville, after which the shat- 
tered Confederate army retreated to Tupelo, in Missis- 
sippi. When the news of this irreparable Confederate 
disaster reached Richmond, Lee had been made com- 
mander-in-chief of all the Confederate forces, and Johns- 
ton was restored by him to the command of the remnants 
of the Confederate forces in the South. 

Hood's advance into Tennessee had left Sherman with- 
out opposition in Georgia, except for a small force of 
cavalry under General Joseph Wheeler and some Georgia 
militia. Sherman now determined to lead his army from 
Atlanta to the sea. After destroying the greater portion 
of Atlanta, he began an almost unimpeded march to 
Savannah. He reached the latter city on December 21, 
and there prepared to take up the march, finished in the 
following year, through the Carolinas. 

Southern officers who resigned the commands of Fed- 
eral battleships prior to the breaking out of the war first 
turned over the ships to the Federal govenmient. Conse- 
quently, the Southern States went into the conflict without 
a navy. Nevertheless, the Confederate govermnent set to 
work to fit out such vessels as it could, and to confederate 
make arrangements in foreign countries for the wlr-vlLefs 
construction of others. The most famous of the "^^^ 
Confederate commanders was Captain (later Rear- 
Admiral) Raphael Semmes, who first commanded the 
Sumter, constructed in the South; and later the Alabama, 
built at Liverpool, England. The latter, under either sail 
or steam, terrorized the merchant marine of the United 
States in every water route known to trade. As the Con- 



348 DIVISION AND REUNION: 1860-1877 

federates were not permitted to take their prizes into 
neutral ports for adjudication, the Alabama was com- 
pelled to burn them at sea, and this single vessel during 
the two years of its career ahnost destroyed the Atlantic 
commerce of the United States. After sinking the United 
States cruiser Ilatteras, off Galveston, it was itself 
sunk off the coast of France by the United States 
warship Kearsarge. 

In 1864, President Lincoln was renominated by the 
Republicans, with Andrew Johnson, a Democrat of Ten- 

, .. , nessee, as their candidate for Vice-Presi- 

Re-election of ' 

President Lincoln ^Q^it. Thc Dcmocrats nominated General 
George B. McClellan, of New Jersey, and George H. 
Pendleton, of Ohio The election resulted in an over- 
whelming victory for Lincohi and Johnson. In the same 
year Nevada was admitted to the Union. ^^ 

The year ended with the Confederacy cut in two along 
the line of the Mississippi, and the eastern half in turn 
divided by Sherman's operations. The defeat of Hood 
by Thomas in Tennessee had well nigh destroyed effective 
opposition to Federal arms in the West, except by small 
but active forces of infantry and cavalry under Generals 
Richard Taylor, E. Kirby Smith, and N. B. Forrest. Lee's 
army at Petersburg, confronted by a determined oppo- 
nent, was daily depleted by battle, disease, and inability to 
maintain its normal strength on insufficient food and 

'^^ On account of previous severe Republican reverses in the elections 
for Congress, the name Republican was avoided in the convention which met 
in Baltimore on June 7th, and which nominated Lincon for a second term. 
This party assemblage was officially called the National Union Convention. 
The radical Republicans had met at Cleveland a week earlier, where they 
put in nomination for the Presidency John C. Fremont. 



CONDITION OF THE CONFEDERATE ARMY 349 

clothing. The extremely limited transxjortation facilities 
of the South had ahnost wholly broken down, and mate- 
rials for repairs could not be had. Consequently, neither 
its armies in the field nor the prisoners in the various 
camps could be properly fed. Moreover, the non-combat- 
ant population in the wake of the invading- armies was 
destitute. Grant wag well aware of these conditions 
and relied upon them as much as upon the courage 
and ability of his troops to effect the ultimate dow^ifall 
of the Confederacy. 

On February 7, Sherman began the second part of 
his march through the South. From Savannah he went 
to Columbia and Charleston. Further widespread de- 
struction of property marked his entire path. Columbia 
was laid in ashes, and, on February 17, Charleston, after 
a remarkable defense against Federal attack by sea for 
nearly four years, was evacuated by the Confederates. 
Johnston had now replaced Hood in command of the 
forces gathered to oppose Sherman in liis northward 
march. Early in the spring, several days' fighting- 
occurred in the neighborhood of Bentonville, N. C, where 
Sherman 's progress was temporarily checked. Johnston, 
however, was finally compelled to retreat, and 

' ^ jr 7 ^ Condition 

less than 200 miles separated the armies of confederate 
Sherman in North Carolina and Grant in Vir- NoSLru 
ginia. In addition, a Federal army from the ^^^^^^^ 
West under General Schofield occupied Wilming-ton, while 
still another force under General Cox was marching from 
New Berne to meet Sherman at Goldsboro. The situation 
of the Confederacy was now desperate. The plan of Lee, 
who in Februarv had been made commander-in-chief of 



350 DIVISION AND REUNION: 1860-1877 

all the Confederate forces, was to withdraw his army 
from the neighborhood of Petersburg and Richmond be- 
fore it was cut off by the overwhelming force of Grant. 
This he had intended doing earlier in the winter, but, 
because of the scarcity of forage, the enfeebled horses 
could not draw the baggage trains and munitions of war. 
Moreover, his soldiers had suffered so greatly from lack 
of clothing, food, and medicine, that thousands of them 
were incapacitated for active service.^^^ 

In consequence of Sherman's rapid progress north- 
ward through the Carolinas, Grant determined to assume 
the aggressive before Lee could seize an opportunity to 
attack or to retire. Acordingly, with Sheridan in advance, 
he moved upon Lee on the 29th of March at Five Forks, 
where Sheridan broke Lee's line of defense and carried 
by assault the Confederate entrenchments at Petersburg. 
Both Petersburg and Riclunond were evacuated on the 
night of the 2nd of April, and the latter city was partly 
destroyed by fire brought on by the burning of public 
stores to prevent them from falling into the hands of the 
Federal troops. Lee concluded to make a re- 

Surrender n i t^ 

A ^omattox treat by way of the Danville railroad and 
April 9, 1865 ^^ effcct R juuctioii with Johiiston in North 
Carolina. His soldiers, however, were without food and 
he was compelled to wait for supplies. This delay 

^ Since he was unable to mov-e his army on account of the half-famished 
condition of his men and horses, Lee planned a desperate movement to break 
through the lines of Grant in his front. On the night of March 25tli, Gen- 
eral John B. Gordon was directed to make an attack upon Fort Stedman 
within the Federal lines. The fort was captured, but, owing partly to con- 
fusion and loss of direction, the Confederates were unable to hold the posi- 
tion, and were driven back after suffering severe losses. . 



SURRENDER OF LEE AT APPOMATTOX 351 

afforded Grant opportunity to throw a large force in his 
path. The Federal troops pressed the Confederates with 
vigor, but at Farmville the remnant of the Army of 
Northern Virginia turned upon their pursuers and for a 
time drove them back in a last desperate display of un- 
availing valor. This final success, however, resulted in 
the loss of another day in the effort to join Johnston. 
The Confederate army had been reduced to a few thousand 
men, of whom a number were too weak to carry arms. 
Concluding, therefore, that further fighting would involve 
useless sacrifice' of life in the prolonged warfare of small 
bands of troops, Lee determined upon surrender. In 
consequence of this decision, the Confederate leader, on 
April 9, met General Grant at Appomattox Court House, 
where the terms of surrender were formally arranged. 
The conditions named by Grant were generous and re- 
flected great credit upon the mind and heart of the victor. 
Officers and men were paroled and permitted to depart 
for their homes. They were also to take with them their 
side arms and horses. The Confederates were given food 
from the Federal supply wagons, and, in a spirit of fine 
magnanimity, General Grant did not permit his troops to 
celebrate their triumph in the face of their vanquished 
fellow- Americans. Thus, after four years of fierce fight- 
ing and arduous service, Lee's great Army of Northern 
Virginia was disbanded; through their silent and tear- 
swept ranks their commander rode to Richmond ; the war 
was practically ended. Seventeen days later, Johnston 
surrendered to Sherman ; Jefferson Davis was taken pris- 
oner in Georgia on May 11 ; and General E. Kirby Smith 



352 DIVISION AND REUNION: 1860-1877 

surrendered the last considerable Confederate force at 
Baton Rouge on May 26.^^ 

Recent and revised estimates indicate that approxi- 
mately four million men were enlisted in the sectional 
struggle. Of these nearly three million were in the Fed- 
eral armies, and from six to nine hundred thousand 
were engaged in the service of the Confederacy. Over 
half a million men on the Union side had died in battle 
or from disease, while about three hundred thousand Con- 
federates had perished. The Union navy had grown from 
small beginnings to a total of 700 ships at the 
Summary ^-j^^g^ ^£ ^^le war, iucludiug 75 ironclads. Against 

these the Confederates had equipped 11 warships of vary- 
ing* strength and several small fleets of gunboats, which 
were used in defense of their harbors. The money cost of 
the war to the United States government had run into 
billions of dollars, leaving the countiy with a heavy 
national debt. The Southern Confederacy had an esti- 
mated expenditure of nearly two billions of dollars, which 
does not include the immense destruction of property in 
that section, wrought chiefly by the armies of Sherman, 
Sheridan, and Hunter. The conflict decided that the view 
of an indissoluble Union entertained by Presidents 
Jackson and Lincoln was to prevail. This view, therefore, 
evolved by growth and new conditions, overcame the once 
widely accepted view that the Constitution was a compact 
from which the States could withdraw. Furthermore, in 
settling the question of secession, the war ended the vexing 
question of slavery, which had differentiated the sections, 

^^ Davis was accused of treason and held in rigorous confinement at 
Fortress Monroe. After two years lie was released, however, and was 
never brought to trial. 



BELIEF IN ''KING COTTON" 353 

had made their pursuits and customs diverge, and had 
obscured in the minds of many the economic and political 
issues at stake. 

NOTES AND SIDELIGHTS 

The Spirit of America. — Washington, returning- to private 
life in the flush of victory and of independence achieved ; Lincoln, 
liberal-minded in the hour of victory; and Robert E. Lee, cahn 
and courageous in the bitterness of defeat, have bequeathed to 
Americans a heritage more glorious than the triumphs of Alex- 
ander the Great, of Julius Caesar, of Napoleon, or of any con- 
queror of whom we read in the history of any country. Just as 
soon as the worst evils of the Reconstruction misgoyernment were 
done away with, the South began to prosper. Many able young 
men of the South went North and wrote their names high in 
industrial enterprise with their fellow-countrymen of the North. 
Northern capital poured into the South, and with it went men 
with executive and business ability to develop the resources of 
the South. The two great sections have come more and more 
to have common interests. Finally, no conntry in the world ever 
saw a vanquished part reunite with the victorious section so 
quickly as reunion followed division in the United States. It 
is not a government "held together by bayonets" as Horace 
Greeley thought it would be if war were declared ; but it is held 
together by the far stronger ties of loj^alty and affection for 
what Americans, North and South, believe to be a government 
as nearly as possible of the people, by the people, for the people. 

Belief in "King Cotton." — In a series of Oxford University 
lectures delivered in May, 1913, and in a Johns Hopkins Uni- 
versity course in the following year, Charles Francis Adams 
emphasized and developed the significance of an economic and 
political theory very generally held in the lower South, to the 
effect that the interruption of the cotton supply for any con- 
siderable length of time, in case of secession, would compel for- 
eign nations, particularly Great Britain, to intervene and recog- 
nize the seceding States. Such recognition would have virtually 
assured the independence of the Confederacy, since in that event 
23 



354 DIVISION AND REUNION: 1860-1877 

the Federal government could not have maintained the blockade. 
Cotton ^^'ould have gone out freely from Southern ports in ex- 
change for gold, munitions of war, and supplies of every 
description. 

Prison Life in War. — One of the most unhappy features of 
the war was the hardship of prison life on either side. Over fifty 
thousand men died in confinement or captivity during the war, 
the number of deaths being about equally divided between North- 
ern and Southern prisons. This total is terrible to think about, 
and the causes have been explained at length and in great bitter- 
ness of spirit by the earlier writers on this subject. Two tributes 
from one side to the good offices and kindness of a single com- 
mandant of the other have, in later years, reflected credit on both. 
A Union officer confined amid the suffering thousands of Ander- 
sonville, Georgia, has \\T:'itten a heartfelt testimonial to the 
humanity of the commander in charge. On the other hand, sub- 
scriptions were raised throughout the South to erect a memorial 
to Colonel Owen, Commandant at Camp Morton. This unique 
memorial was erected in 1913 at Indianapolis, largely through the 
efforts of Colonel S. A. Cunningham, a former prisoner at 
Camp Morton. 

Object of the War. — The student should clearly understand 
the paragraph describing the nature of the Emancipation Proc- 
lamation as a means to an end ; for President Lincoln's object in 
waging war was to preserve the Union. If he could hasten that 
end by offering freedom to the slave, he would do that. If the 
war could be brought, to an end by guaranteeing the continuance 
of slavery so long as the Southern people wanted it, he would 
do that also. The Union armies did not fight to free the slave 
on the one hand ; and the Confederates did not fight to maintain 
slaverj^ on the other. Within the Union lines, slavery continued 
until the action of the States in passing the Thirteenth Amend- 
ment set all the slaves free. 

PART II : PERIOD OF RECONSTRUCTION 

In the midst of the rejoicing in the North over the 
surrender of Lee, the entire country was horrified by the 



LINCOLN'S PRIMARY PURPOSE 355 

insane deed of an actor, John Wilkes Booth, who, on the 
night of April 14, shot Abraham Lincoln soon after the 
President had entered Ford's theatre in Washington. 
President Lincoln died early the following Assassination of 
morning, being the first President of the ^^^^^^^^t Lincoln. 
United States to suffer death at the hands of an assassin. 
From the moment that the murderer of President Lincoln 
leaped upon the stage of the theatre, he was hotly pursued, 
together with his several acomplices, one of whom had 
tried to kill Secretary Seward. On the 25th of April, 
nearly two weeks later. Booth was wounded in a barn near 
Fredericksburg. Upon his refusal to surrender, he was 
shot and killed. 

President Lincoln was a man of Southern birth and 
Northern training, and had he been permitted to carry 
out his plans of restoration to pre-war conditions, it is 
probable that the crimes and blunders of the ** reconstruc- 
tion" period in the South would not have been perpe- 
trated. Lincoln had desired to preserve the Union, and 
after having accomplished that single purpose, 
he welcomed peace and tJie prompt restoration p^^^^lJ 
of the Southern States. He knew the high char- of *^mf^^* 
acter of the Southern people and he was con- ^^^^^ 
vinced that they would accept the decision of the sword in 
good faith upon the laying down of their arms. As a 
result of his death, the Radical element, hitherto held in 
check, got control of Congress. Those who represented 
this element, immediately took the lead in praising the man 
whom they had hitherto bitterly opposed. Representing 
his untimely death as the deed of Southern sympathizers, 
they called loudly for a policy of vengeance. They car- 
ried their point, and a long period of oppression and mis- 



356 



DIVISION AND REUNION: 1860-1877 



government followed before the moderate people of the 
North, representing the majority of the people of that 
section, could prevail and give time to the SoutheiTi people 
to recover from the effects of the war and adapt them- 
selves to new conditions. 

Upon the death of Lincoln, Andrew^ Johnson became 
President. Johnson wished to carry out Lincoln 's policies 
with regard to the South, but the Radical wing of 
Fourteenth the Republican party, led by Representative 
Thaddeus Stevens, was in the saddle and de- 
termined to rule. In 1866 Congress passed a Civil Rights 
Bill conferring citizenship upon the negroes. This bill 

was passed over the veto of President 
Johnson, and in 1868 its main pro- 
visions were incorporated in the 
Fourteenth Amendment to the Con- 
stitution. The bill also provided for 
the disfranchisement of the great 
majority of the white voters through 
denying the suffrage to any one who 
had ^^ engaged in insurrection or re- 
bellion'' against the United States.^^ 

Although the Southern States had 
readily ratified the Thirteenth 
Amendment and carried out in good 
faith the other conditions prescribed 
under President Lincoln's plan of 
restoration, these States, with the ex- 
ception of Tennessee, now refused to 

"^^ Lincoln had hoped to admit '' the more intelligent " of the negro 
race to the privileges of suffrage. Johnson agreed in this, and, like Lincoln, 
regarded the matter as one for each State to decide for itself. At this time, 
only six of the northern States permitted the negro to vote. 




ANDREW JOHNSON 

Born Raleigh, North 
Carolina, December 29, 
1808. Moved to Tennessee 
and became supporter of 
Andrew Jackson; United 
States Senator, 1857-62; 
opposed secession of Ten- 
nessee; elected Vice-Presi- 
dent, 1864; succeeded to 
Presidency on death of Lin- 
coln, 1865; endeavored to 
carry out Lincoln's policies, 
but failed. Died 1875. 



IMPEACHMENT OF PRESIDENT JOHNSON 357 

ratify the disqualifying i3 revisions of the CivilRights Bill ; 
Congress, therefore, declared the Southern States out of 
the Union and divided the South into five great military 
districts. These districts were placed under «carpet-bagger" 
the supreme authority of officers of the Ruie in the south 
United States Army, while Reconstruction went on under 
the terms imposed by Congress. In this period much of. 
the direction of the government was in the control of un- 
principled adventurers from the North, who came to be 
known as ^^carpet-baggers." These adventurers were 
aided by white men in the South called *^ scalawags." In 
1865, a Freedmen's Bureau was organized to help the 
newly emancipated negro, to see that he received fair 
returns for his labor, and to give him abandoned lands. 
The purposes of the Bureau appeared to be good, but 
politicians abused the powers of the Bureau to dispossess 
the whites and to stir up friction between the races. 

For some time, in respect to reconstruction legisla- 
tion. President Johnson had been in opposition to the 
Radical majority in Congress. This majority attempted 
to limit the influence of the President by passing the 
'^Tenure of Office Act." This act forbade the President 
to remove a government official without the consent of the 
Senate. The President believed that the act was unconsti- 
tutional, and thereafter dismissed Secretary of War 
Stanton, who had been a powerful representative of the 
Radical element in the Cabinet. In February, 1868, the 
House of Representatives accused the Presi- impeachment of 
dent of '^high crimes and misdemeanors," President johnson 
by process of impeachment (Article II, Section IV, Con- 
stitution of the United States). The trial, according to 
the terms of the Constitution, took place before the Senate. 



358 DIVISION AND REUNION: 1860-1877 

A two-thirds vote was necessary for conviction. After 
two months of argument, the vote resulted 35 to 19 for 
conviction, or one vote less than the necessary two-thirds 
by which the President could have been removed 
from office. 

In the midst of the War of Secession, England, Spain, 
and France sent an armed force into Mexico to collect 
debts due those countries. Subsequently England and 
Spain withdrew; but Napoleon III, Emperor of France, 
thought he saw a good opportunity to make Archduke 
„ . ... Maximilian of Austria, Emperor of Mexico. 

Mexico and the ^ ^ 

Monroe Doctrine gy ^j^^ ^j^j ^f Freuch troops, Maximilian 
easily gained control of Mexico ; but as soon as the United 
States was free from civil strife, the Monroe Doctrine 
was reasserted by Secretary Seward, and it was proposed 
that a combined force of Federal and Confederate vet- 
erans should be sent to fight side by side "for American 
rights'' against European aggression.^'^ In the face of 
this threat of war by the United States and because of an 
impending conflict in Europe, Napoleon withdrew his 
troops. Maximilian was defeated and executed; Mexico 
was saved for the Mexicans; and the Monroe Doctrine 
was upheld. 

During Johnson's administration Russia offered to 
sell Alaska to the United States. A treaty was accord- 
ingly agreed upon by which the United States purchased 
Purchase ^^^^t vast and then almost unexplored territory 
of Alaska ^^^ $7,200,000. The United States thus acquired 
577,000 additional square miles in "a new Northwest," 



-^ General Sherman, in command of an American force, was dispatched 
to the Mexican border. 



ELECTION OF ULYSSES S. GRANT 



359 



representing an area almost equal in extent to that of the 
United States east of the Mississippi. 

In 1868, the Republicans nominated General Ulysses S. 
Grant and Schuyler Colfax as their candidates for Presi- 
dent and Vice-President. The Democrats Election of 
nominated Horatio Seymour, of New York, ^'^^^'' ^- ^^"^* 
and Francis P. Blair, of Missouri. General Grant thus 
became the first of a series of Presidential candidates who 
had seen service in the War of Seces- 
sion. Grant and Colfax were elected 
by a large majority. 

It is difficult to describe the ter- 
rible conditions that existed in the 
South during the last years of 
Johnson ^s administration and prac- 
tically the whole of the eight years 
under Grant. A combination of 
^ ' carpet-baggers, ' ' ^ ^ scalawags, ' ' and 
negroes was in control of the govern- 
ment in several of the States. The 
Freedmen's Bureau, intended to aid 
the negroes, became a means for cor- 
rupting them. A ^^ Loyal League" 
of negroes was created, the purpose 
of which, under alien white control, 
was to keep the government in 
the hands of the baser elements of both races. 

It should be remembered that throughout the four 
years of war there had been little violence and almost 
no crimes committed by negroes in any part of the South. 
They had taken care of the small farms and large plan- 
tations of the whites, and the relations between the races 




ULYSSES S. GRANT 

Born Point Pleasant, 
Ohio, April 27, 1822. Was 
graduated at West Point, 
1843; served with dis- 
tinction in war with Mexico ; 
resigned from army and 
lived near St. Louis, Mis- 
souri; as brigadier-general 
in War of Secession, won 
notable successes in the 
West; as lieutenant-gen- 
eral, 1864, prosecuted cam- 
paign against Lee until lat- 
ter surrendered, April 9, 
1865; President, 1869- 
'77. Died, Mt. McGregor, 
New York, July 23, 1885. 



360 



DIVISION AND REUNION: 1860-1877 



were most friendly. Under the new conditions of free- 
dom, every temptation was suddenly thrown in the way 
of the nesfro. Crimes of all kinds were com- 

Destruction ^ . . , . p 

Name%f mitted ; and the criminals, if caught, were 

Reconstruction frequently permitted to go unpunished. The 
better class of whites had little or no part in the govern- 
ment; so that they and the law-abiding or better class of 




W EST WARD ACROSS THE PLAINS 

An excellent sketch of the Union Pacific R. R. in construction through Nebraska. 

Pawnees on guard. 

negroes coidd get no redress from courts^ judges, or 
jurors. The State legislatures presented scenes of riot 
and extravagance that had never been seen before 
in a civilized country. Thousands of negroes left the 
farms untilled and crowded into the villages and cities of 
the South, seeking support from the Federal soldiers or 
from the Freedmen's Bureau. Those who had savings 
were sw^indled out of them by sharpers who held up the 



THE FIFTEENTH AMENDMENT 361 

promise of *' forty acres and a mule" and other aids to 
be given to ihem by the United States Government. 

During these times of disorder and corruption, the 
disfranchised Southern whites organized secret societies, 
which came to be known collectively as the Ku Klux Klan. 
The Klan went about in disguises and sought ^^^ 
to terrify the evil element in control. As a ^^ ^^"^ ^^^^ 
rule, the Klan gathered at night as quiet, white-sheeted, 
ghostlike, but determined men. They warned or punished 
only the criminal or vicious classes. Nevertheless, the 
Klan was outside the law, and United States courts took 
measures, to suppress it. In 1869, after an existence of 
about two years, the Klan disbanded of its own accord.^* 

In February, 1869, Congress proposed the Fifteenth 
Amendment, which declared that the ^* right of citizens 
of the United States to vote shall not be denied or 
abridged ... on account of race, color, or previous 
condition of servitude." Ratification of this 

The 

last Amendment of Reconstruction times was Fifteenth 

. . , Amendment 

made a condition for the readmission of Vir- 
ginia, Georgia, Mississippi, and Texas. It was ratified by 
three-fourths of the States and declared in force 
in 1870.2'^ 

** Excesses committed by certain elements after 1869 have been falsely 
charged to the Ku Klux Klan, Some of those caught in these excesses were 
found to belong to the " scalawag element " seeking to discredit the better 
class of whites in order to cause the Federal Government to maintain mili- 
tary force behind their misgovernment. There seems little doubt that this 
remarkable organization, carefully selected from the most sober and dis- 
creet type of citizen, saved the civilization of the South from perhaps 
almost irredeemable depths of degradation and despoliation. 

'^Georgia had been again declared out of the Union, to be readmitted 
after ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment. 



362 DIVISION AND REUNION: 1860-1877 

In 1872, the Republicans again nominated General Grant for 
President. Those Republicans, however, who were shocked by 
the great amount of corruption in public office, and who were 
Re-election of ^^^^ dissatisficd with the conduct of Reconstruction 
President Grant jj^ ^j^g South nominated Horacc Greeley, of New 
York. The Democrats endorsed Greeley ; but Grant was elected 
by a large majority. Greeley died before the electoral votes 
were cast. 

The period following the War of Secession was one of 
unexampled corruption in public office. General Grant's 
administration was not unlike that of Andrew Jackson 
in that both Presidents were misled by designing men. 
Under Grant, however, the opportunities for corruption 
„ ,.,. , were erreater : and, for that reason, millions were 

Political o / 7 7 

Corruption niisspcnt and offices were "bought and sold.'' 
Unusual efforts were made to develop the West. Most 
of the laws passed for this purpose were excellent, par- 
ticularly those passed under the Presidency of Abraham 
Lincoln ; but scandals crept in, especially in the matter of 
funds appropriated for building transcontinental railway 
systems. The reputations of a number of men high in 
public life and favor were seriously besmirched. 

In 1871, a great fire destroyed buildings over an area of 2000 
acres in Chicago. Boston was risited by a destructive fire the 
following year. The losses in these fires amounted to a quarter 
of a billion dollars. In 1873, there were many failures of banks 
"Hard ^11^ business houses of all kinds. A financial panic fol- 
Times" Jowcd ; and, after the era of great spending and expansion, 
there cam^e several years of '^hard times ^' and suffering among 
the poor and the unemployed. In 1875, CongTCss beg^an to make 
provision for the redemption in coin of the notes or "green- 
backs" issued in large quantities during and after the War of 



SIOUX INDIAN UPRISING 



363 



Secession. This redemption was carried into effect a few years 
later, and the ''greenback" rose to its par value.-" 

During: the early part of this period the western Indians had 
been badly treated by corrupt government agents and by white 
adventurers. Several Indian uprisings took place. The Apaches 
of Arizona rose in 1871, and the Modoc Indians in 1873. 
These were put do^\Ti without serious loss of Life ; but, in 
1876, the Sioux Indians surrounded and annihilated a 
body of United States troops led by General Custer. The Sioux 



Sioux 

Indian 

Uprising 




Custer's fight with the sioux indians 

leader, Sitting Bull, fled to Canada, but died in the United States 
many years later. 

In 1876, the Republicans nominated Rutlierford B. 
Hayes, of Ohio, for President. The Democrats nominated 
Samuel J. Tilden, of New York. After the election, dis- 

^'' These panics had been preceded by others during the administration 
of President Grant. A particularly severe one was experienced in 18(59, 
when the manipulation of certain powerful financiers brought on a '' Black 
Friday " which ruined thousands. 



304 DIVISION AND REUNION: 1860-1877 

putes arose as to the electoral votes of South Carolina, 
Florida, and Louisiana, together with one electoral vote 
from Oregon. These Southern States were still very 
largely under the control of ^^ carpet-bag^' 
The Hayes-Tiiden o^Qveniments, and these goveraments threw 

Disputed Election; ^5 i o 

of"Haye^s°^" out Dcmocratic majorities on the ground 

that negroes had been intimidated at the 
polls. Certificates of election were therefore given to Re- 
publican electors in the place of Democratic ones. A 
serious crisis had arisen, and there was great excitement 
throughout the country. Congress appointed a commission 
to pass upon the disputed votes. This connnission was 
composed of five members from the House, five from the 
Senate, and five Justices of the Supreme Court. Eight 
were Republicans and seven were Democrats, and the com- 
mission by an eight-to-seven majority, decided, March 2, 
1877, to award all the disputed votes to Hayes, who was 
therefore elected by a majority of one vote over Tilden. No 
disorder followed, and the country abided quietly by the 
decision of the Commission. A serious crisis had been 
passed, and by reason of orderly habits and good sense the 
country was saved from what otherwise must have been 
a terrible civil war.^' 

NOTES AND SIDELIGHTS 

Congress Convenes Itself. — During- the struggle between 
Congress and President Johnson, the former provided for the 
calling of its own extra sessions, a function exercised by the 
Executive both before and since that time. The majority in con- 
trol of Congress at this time feared the action of President John- 
son during the summer of 1867 ; the thirty-ninth Congress, there- 

^^ Seven votes were in dispute in South Carolina, eight in Louisiana, 
five in Florida, and one in Oregon. Tilden had a popular majority of over 
half a million votes. 



CONDITIONS IN SOUTH MISREPRESENTED 365 

fore, called the fortieth in extra session, beginning- March 4th 
of that year. 

Governor Jenkins of Georgia. — Although twice "reorgan- 
1 ized, ' ' Georgia was the last of the seceding States to receive final 
" admission into the Union. This took place July 15, 1870, over 
five years after the close of the war. During reconstruction times 
in that State, Governor C. J. Jenkins, continuing in office under 
the Lincoln-Johnson plan, was, by military authority, ordered to 
approve the pajTiient for convention expenses of a very large 
draft upon the State treasury. Governor Jenkins at once left 
the State, carrying with him the executive seal and $400,000 in 
cash. Upon the restoration of normal conditions, the former 
governor returned the seal and the mone}^ w^hich had been kept 
by him intact for the State. His unique act was afterwards 
gratefully recognized by the legislature of Georgia. 

Conditions in the South Misrepresented. — Southern 
students especially should comprehend clearly that the element 
j that had drifted into the South after the war was not typical of 
I the Northern people. In fact, there is no doubt that if the North- 
ern people generally had known of the true conditions under 
j reconstruction misrule, they would have come to the aid of their 
; fellow-countrymen. These conditions, however, were misrepre- 
sented to them for many years by the corrupt agencies in control 
of the Southern States governments and by a public press much 
I inferior to that of to-day. In the midst of reconstruction in the 
South and the enfranchisement of the freed men there, the 
voters of Ohio rejected negro suffrage in that State by a major- 
ity of 50,000. 
I On December 18th, President Johnson prepared a special 
message to Congress on the suppression of the ' ' Rebellion. ' ' At 
the same time, he submitted two reports on conditions in the 
South. The first was by General Grant, the second by Carl 
Schurz, one of the noted German- American leaders in the "War 
for the Union. Grant's report was favorable in regard to the 
restoration of normal conditions in the South; but the Schurz 
report set forth very different views, which gave the radical ele- 
ment in Congress material aid in their argument for the severe 
measures they were advocating in the name of reconstruction. 



End of 
Reconstruction 



. CHAPTER XV 

The Stoey of Our Own Times 

part i. from the end of reconstruction to the 
beginning of the world war 

The beginning of Hayes ' administration may be said 
to mark the end of tlie Reconstruction regime in the South. 
One of the President's first acts was to re- 
move Federal troops from the Southern 
States, and to allow the people under their own leaders to 

resume self-government. The better 
element of the white race assumed 
control of the machinery of gpvem- 
^% \ ment, and began at once to repair, not 

^' only the ravages of war, but the even 

worse damage done under subsequent 
misinile. Although the Republican 
Radicals opposed this policy of 
reconciliation and restoration, they 
were outnumbered by the moderate 
Republicans and the Democrats, for 
the people in the North and West 
were beginning to learn the true 
state of affairs, and were showing 
their resentment at the polls. 

In 1879, the United States Treas- 
ury began to redeem the '^green- 
backs" of war times in gold; and 
great strides were made in reducing 
the National debt, which at the close 




RUTHERFOHD B. HAYES 

Born Delaware, Ohio, 
October 4, 1822. Valedic- 
torian, Keuyon College, 
1842; studied law and be- 
came city solicitor Cincin- 
nati, 1858-1861; served 
throughout War of Seces- 
sion, rising to rank of brig- 
adier-general of volunteers; 
member Congress, 1865- 
1867; elected governor 
Ohio, 1867, and re-elected, 
1869; again elected in 1875; 
election to Presidency 
(1876) confirmed by special 
electoral commission, 
March 2, 1877; became 
active after retiring from 
office (1881) in prison re- 
form and in educational 
work. Died 1893. 

366 



SETTLING THE NATIONAL DEBT 



367 



of the war, had reached a total of two and a half billion 

dollars. In the accomplishment of this task, Hugh W. 

McCulloch and David A. Wells are entitled to 

public g-ratitude, together with the able men 

of earlier times. As the Federal Government gained in 



Settling the 
National Debt 




MEETING OF THE UNION AND CENTRAL PACIFIC RAILROADS 

stability, it was able to get loans at a lower rate of interest. 
Therefore, it borrowed large amounts in order to pay the 
principal of the war debt, which bore a much higher rate 
of interest.^ 

A review of the administration of President Hayes shows 

^It is interesting to note that for twenty years or more the silver 
dollar had gone out of circulation; and, in 1873. Congress dropped it 
altogether from the coins then issued. By some this act of Congress was 
afterwards called "the crime of 1873." Subsequently, those interested 
in the silver mines of the West demanded the recoinage of silver on a 
large scale. In 1878, therefore, the Bland-Allison Act, as a compromise 
measure, called for the monthly purchase of from $2,000,000 to $4,000,000 
worth of silver bullion to be coined into standard silver dollars. 



368 



THE STORY OF OUR OWN TIMES 




\ 



that he followed a middle policy between partisan politics on 
the one side and the advocates of reform on the other. He had 
Election of corrected, in large measure, many of the abuses 

James A. Garfield ^jiigh j^ad been rampant under his predecessor, 
but he had not, according to the civil service reformer, gone far 
enough. There was little thought of his renomination, and the 

leaders of the Republican perty turned to 
other candidates. James G. Blaine, of 
Maine, came forward as a favorite, but 
so strong an effort was made to nominate 
Grant for a third term that it helped de- 
feat Blaine's chances, and James A. 
Garfield, of Ohio, was nominated. Like 
Grant and Hayes, Garfield had served in 
the Union army during the War of Seces- 
sion. The Democrats likewise nominated 
a veteran of the war. General Winfield 
Scott Hancock, of Pennsylvania. Garfield 
was elected, and, with him, Chester A. 
Arthur, of New York, as Vice-President. 
As in the case of every newly elected 
President since the days of Jackson, 
Garfield was surrounded by innumerable 
office-seekers. Because the President 
seemed to favor one faction of the Re- 
publican party more than the other, he 
was fiercel}^ denounced by the latter. This 
public abuse of the President, together 
with personal disappointment in not re- 
ceiving an office, led Charles J. Guiteau to 
attack the President, whom he shot and 
mortally wounded, Jul}' 2, 1881. Garfield 
died on the 19th of September, and Chester A. Arthur took the 
oath of office as President. 



JAMES A. GARFIELD 

Born Orange, Ohio, No- 
vember 19, 1831, Largely 
self-educated; became 
teacher while studying 
law; member Ohio State 
senate, 1859; served in 
west during War of Seces- 
sion, rising by exceptional 
merit, to rank of major- 
general, 186 3, resigned 
from service to take seat 
in House of Representa- 
tives ; re-elected to Congress 
regularly, where he op- 
posed Reconstruction poli- 
cies of Andrew Johnson, 
and was otherwise promi- 
nent as leader in shaping 
legislation, including ad- 
vocacy of the resumption 
of specie payments; elected 
President, 1880; shot by 
assassin July 2, 1881, and 
died September 19 follow- 
ing. 



The immediate effect of the assassination of the Presi- 
dent was to arouse the whole country to the urgent need 



POLITICAL CHANGES AND SPECIAL ISSUES 369 



Civil 

Service 

Reform 




for reform in the matter of appointments to office. Conse- 
quently, in 1883, Congress passed a law providing 
for the appointment of a Civil Service Commis- 
sion. The powers and scope of this body were 
gradually broadened, and it has exercised a strong influ- 
ence on the appointment of the majority of the minor 
officials of the Federal Government. 
Under the Civil Service system, ap- 
pointments are made by means of 
competitive examinations, and the 
appointees sei've during good be- 
havior. The merit system thus began 
to replace the ^^ spoils system," 
which had led to great abuses for 
nearly half a century. 

Approximately from the era of 
the Reconstruction to the present 
time the frequent reversals of policy 
which accompany changes of ad- 
ministration make a disjointed and 
difficult narrative. This period may 
be roughly divided into two parts : 
the period from 1867 to the War with 
Spain, and the period from the close 
of that war to the beginning of the 
World War and its subsequent problems. Although there 
was a succession of Republican Presidents, 
broken only by Cleveland's two terms, from 
the close of the Hayes administration to 
the election of Wilson in 1912, a consider- 
able part of the time. Congress, or at least the House of 
Representatives, was Democratic. On the other hand, the 

24 



CHESTER A. ARTHUB 

Born Fairfield, Vt., 
October 5, 1830. Teacher 
in Vermont, practised law 
in New York; served on 
Governor Alorgan's staff 
during War of Secession; 
appointed by Grant collec- 
tor of port of New York, 
1871; elected Vice-Presi- 
dent with Garfield, 1880; 
had always opposed civil 
service reform but aided 
the reformers after ele- 
vation to Presidency at 
death of Garfield, Septem- 
ber 19, 1881, to end of his 
term in 1885. Died 1886. 



Political Changes 
and Special 
Issues and Their 
Treatment 



370 



THE STORY OF OUR OWN TIMES 




Democrats, under Cleveland, could not control the Senate, 
although during part of one term they enjoyed a nom- 
inal majority.^ 

The Presidential election of 1884 was closely contested. The 
Election of Democrats nominated Grover Cleveland, of New 

Grover Cleveland York, and Thomas A. Hendricks, of Indiana. 
The Republicans nominated James G. Blaine, of Maine, and John 

A. Logan, of Illinois. Cleveland and 
Hendricks were elected by a small major- 
ity. The result was decided by the 
electoral vote of New York; and in this 
and subsequent closely contested elections 
New York came to be known as the 
*' pivotal State.'' 

Since four Presidents had died in 
office, Congress, in 1886, passed a 
Presidential Succession Act. It pro- 
vided that officers of the Cabinet 
should succeed to the Presidency in 
case of the death or disability of both 
the President and the Vice-President. 
The order of succession provided was 
as follows: (1) Secretary of State, 
(2) Secretary of the Treasury, (3) 
Secretary of War, and so forth, in 
the order of the establishment of 
these offices or portfolios. During the following year 

^ In view of these constantly alternating changes in politics and 
policies, it is easier and clearer first to run rapidly over the successive 
administrations in chronological order, discussing in each period only the 
cause of political change and those events actually completed in the time 
under discussion. Thereafter, separate, complete, and, therefore, more 
distinct pictures may he drawn of all the modern problems through treat- 
ing them as special topics until they are in themselves finished or, at least, 
brought up to date. See p. 397, et seq. 



GROVER CLEVELAND 

Born Caldwell, N. J., 
March 18, 1837. Held 
clerical positions in New 
York City and in Buffalo, 
1853-1855; studied law 
and in 1863 became assist- 
ant district attorney of 
Erie Co.; elected sheriff of 
Erie Co. in 1.870; elected 
Mayor of Buffalo, 1881; 
elected Governor of New 
York, 1882; elected Pres- 
ident, 1884; defeated by 
Harrison, 1888; again elect- 
ed President in 1892; gave 
annual lectures, Princeton 
University. Died Prince- 
ton, 1908. 



ELECTION OF GROVER CLEVELAND 



371 



provision was made that the courts of the respective 
States should decide contested electoral votes, Presidential 
so that Congress need not again face a danger- ^'^"^^^'°'^ 
ous situation, such as arose in the Hayes-Tilden contest 
in 1876. 



Benjamin Harrison 



In the Presidential election of 1888 the tariff was the princi- 
pal issue. The Democrats had previously declared themselves 
in favor of lowering import taxes ; but a Repub- Election of 
lican majority in the Senate had prevented any 
action by President Cleveland and the Democratic majority in 
the House. Cleveland was again, in 1888, the nominee of the 
Democrats on a "tariff reform" platform. 
The Republicans nominated Benjamin 
Harrison, of Indiana, a grandson of 
former President William H. Harrison. 
Cleveland was defeated, although he re- 
ceived a larger plurality of the popular 
vote than when he was elected four years 
previously. This time. New York gave her 
36 electoral votes to Harrison, and with. 
these votes went victory for the Republi- 
can party. 

After the admission of Nevada and 
Nebraska, in 1864 and 1867, respectively, 
only one State, Colorado, was admitted 
into the Union in the following twenty-two 
years. In 1889, however, four new States 
were added, with two more in 1890. These 
States were North and South Dakota, 
Montana, Washington, Idaho, and 
Wyoming. Because of her admission into 
the Union on the hundredth anniversary 
of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Colorado be- 
came known as the ' ' Centennial State. ' ' Like Cali- Admission of 
fornia, Colorado owed its first growth to the discovery ^®^ ^***®^ 
of gold. The State was found to be rich in other minerals as well ; 




BENJAMIN HARRISON 

Born North Bend, Ohio, 
August 20, 1833. Gradu- 
ate of Miami University; 
practised law at Indian- 
apoUs, Ind. ; served in War 
of Secession; colonel of vol- 
unteers as early as 1862; 
brevetted brigadier-general 
at close of war; United 
States Senator, 1881-1887; 
President United States, 
1889; defeated for re-elec- 
tionin 1892. Died Indiana- 
polis, March 13, 1901. 



372 THE STORY OF OUR OWN TIMES 

and, after irrigation, her dry lands proved very valuable for 
agriculture. 

North and South Dakota owed much of their growth to 
agriculture ; but the discovery of precious metals in Mon- 
tana, and at other points in the Northwest, aided greatly 
in the settlement of that whole region. Sheep grazing 
became a profitable industry. Across the Rocky Mount- 
ains, in Oregon and Washington, trade and industry 
began to thrive with the advent of more railroads and 
steamboat lines. The climate and soil were adapted to the 
production of exceptionally fine apples, pears, and other 
fruits. Cities grew up in places where a few years before 
there had been lonely ranches, or, perhaps, Indian vil- 
lages. Utah, also, was being rapidly developed by the 
industry of the Momions; but, owing to the practice of 
polygamy. Congress refused to admit the Territory into 
the Union as a State until polygamy should be abolished. 
Utah was admitted into the Union in 1896. During the 
last decade of the 19th century, Arizona and New Mexico 
sought admission to the Union, but, as these States were 
likely to be Democratic in sentiment, the Republicans suc- 
cessfully opposed their admission until 1912. Previously, 
the Democrats had been successful, for a tune, in delaying 
the admission of the Republican Territories of the 
Dakotas, Montana, and Washington.^ 

After the election of Harrison, the Republicans in Con- 
gress, under the leadership of William McKinley, pre- 
pared to raise the tariff rates. At the same time, there 

^ The dispute concerning the admission of these States may be com- 
pared and contrasted with the admission of new States prior to the War 
of Secession, when the " balance of power " was maintained in the Senate. 



HIGH TARIFFS AND ''FREE SILVER" 



373 



was in the Republican party a strong faction which 
demanded the free coinage of silver at the 
ratio of 16 to 1 with gold. This faction refused and 

" Free Silver " 

to vote for the tariff if a ^'free silver" bill was 

not likewise enacted. The majority of the Republican 

Congressmen were opposed to ^'free silver," so a com- 




THE CAPITOL. WASHINGTON, D. C. 



The corner-stone of this building was laid in 1792. President Washington and 
Major P. C. L'Enfant selected the site. Much of the old Capitol was burned by the 
British in 1814; after the War of 1812. it was rebuilt and extended from time to 
time as more space was needed for the expansion of the business oi the Federal 
Government. 

promise was arranged; the McKinley tariff bill was 
passed, and a bill was brought forward which provided 
in part what the *'free silver" men desired. Although 
making provision for an increase in the purchase of 
bullion, this currency bill, knoA\ai as the Sherman Silver 
Purchase Act, could be interpreted either in a ivay favor- 
able to the free coinage of silver or in a way unfavorable 
to it. It was subsequently interpreted in a way unfavor- 



374 THE STORY OF OUR OWN TIMES 

able to the ^'free silver'' advocates by John G. Carlisle, 
Secretary of the Treasury during Cleveland's second 
administration. The ^'free silver" issue was destined to 
play a prominent part in the Presidential campaign of 
1896, with the two parties apparently in somewhat re- 
versed stand. I 

The popular outcry against the formation of pred- 
atory corporations called '^trusts" had become so in- 
sistent that the great political parties united in 
Anti-Trust passing the ^'Sherman Anti-Trust" law. This 
was intended to curb ^'combinations" which 
unduly restrained trade and throttled competition. 
Regulation under the provisions of this law, however, was 
not seriously attempted or enforced until the administra- |j 
tions of Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson. 

In Congress, during Harrison's administration, un- 
usual powers were assumed by the Speaker of the House 
of Representatives, Thomas B. Reed. He made such 
etfective use of his powers in appointing committees, in 
according or refusing recognition to members on the 
floor, and in enforcing rules to "rush" through party 
legislation, that he became known as ''Czar" Reed. I 
Under the leadership of a group of ' ' insurgent ' ' Repub- 
licans and Democrats, the Speaker was shorn of this 
power in 1910. 

In 1892, President Harrison was again nominated by the 
Republicans. The Democrats nominated Grover Cleveland for 
the third time. Again, the principal issue of the campaign was 
Re-election of ^^^ tariff. The Republicans defended the 
Grover Cleveland McKinlev Bill; the Democrats attacked it and 
called for tariff reform. This time the Democrats elected the i] 



PANIC OF 1893 375 

President. They secured also a large majority iu the House of 
Representatives and a small majority in the Senate. 

The People ^s Party had met in convention in Omaha, July 
2nd, and denounced both the old parties as engaged primar- 
ily in a ''sham battle" over the tariff issue. The convention put 
itself on record as favoring- a graduated income tax, postal savings 
banks, the introduction of the Australian ballot t,. t> i , 

' . , ... The People s 

system, the restriction of immigration, an eight- Party 
hour day on all work under the supervision of the Federal gov- 
ernment, the election of United States Senators b}" direct vote, the 
initiative and referendum, public or government ownership of 
telegraph and telephone lines, and the free coinage of silver at 
the ratio of 16 to 1. This was considered a startlingly radical 
program by the conservative sentiment of the East, and the 
adherents of the People's Party were ridiculed as ''Populists." 
The country was genuinely surprised, however, to find, after 
election day, that this third party, with James B. Weaver as its 
candidate, had polled over one million votes and had carried the 
electorate of Kansas, North Dakota, Colorado, Idaho, and 
Nevada. The party itself reached the zenith of its independent 
power in this election, as, in 1896, it endorsed Bryan. All of its 
planks were made into laws in the next quarter of a century ex- 
cept the last three above enumerated, while one of these three, the 
initiative and referendimi, was adopted by several of the 
western States. 

Before Cleveland was inaugurated there occurred a 
sharp falling off in the value of silver, and gold became 
scarce. At times the gold reserve reached so low a p^nic 
point that it became very difficult to maintain the °^ 
country on a gold basis. Cleveland called Congress to- 
gether in special session and brought about the repeal of 
the Sherman Silver Purchase act; but financial distress 
continued for some time, and there were many failures in 
business throughout the country. 



376 THE STORY OF OUR OWN TIMES 

Since the Democratic party had been returned to 
power on the issue of the tariff, Cleveland urged legisla- 
tion in Congress looking to a reduction of import duties 
Tariff i^ accordance with the Democratic campaign 
Legislation pie(jggg^ Under the leadership of William L. 
AYilson, of West Virginia, the House passed a bill making 
material reductions in the tariff rates. In the Senate, 
however, the bill was very greatly modified by an alliance 
between the Republicans and a small number of high- 
tariff Democrats under the leadership of Senator 
Gorman, of Maryland. In its amended form the bill 
passed both houses and became known as the Wilson- 
Gorman Tariff Bill. President Cleveland, however, de- 
clared that the bill did not carry out the promises of the 
Democratic party. For this reason he refused to sign the 
measure, and the bill became a law without his signature. 
(See Article I, Section VII, 2, Constitution of the 
United States,) 

In 1894, President Cleveland was called upon to make 
a decision of far-reaching importance with regard to 
domestic affairs. In that year there was a great strike 

among railroad employes in the West, 

Interstate Commerce ,, , (* n t i ^ i* i 

and the Passage of the ccnter 01 the disturbauces bemg at 

Chicago. When the railroads attempted 
to secure other employes, rioting followed, and the rail- 
road traffic was impeded or altogether blocked. Pres- 
ident Cleveland, over the protest of the Governor of 
Illinois, sent troops to the scene to insure the safety and 
transit of United States mails and to protect interstate 
commerce. The action of the President indicated further 
control by the Federal Government in matters at one time 
thought to be wholly under State management. 



THE DINGLEY TARIFF ACT 



377 



In the Presidential campaign of 1896 the Republicans nom- 
inated William McKinley, of Ohio, a champion Election of 
of high tariff; while the Democrats nominated wiiiiam McKiniey 
William Jennings Brj^an, of Nebraska, who was a strong 
advocate of the free coinage of silver 
at the ratio of 16 to 1, In the campaign 
the tariff issue was subordinated to the 
issue of free silver. The opponents of 
' ' free silver ' ' were called ' ' sound money ' ' 
men. Both parties split on this issue. The 
Republican advocates of '^free silver" 
organized a National Silver Party and 
endorsed Bryan. On the other hand, the 
''gold" Democrats met in convention and 
nominated John M. Palmer, of Illinois, 
for President. Bryan made the most ex- 
tended campaign ever undertaken by the 
candidate of any party; but the Repub- 
licans won, and McKinley was elected 
President. With him was elected Garret 
A. Hobart, of New Jersey, as Vice- 
President. 




WILLIAM MCKINLET 

Born Niles, O., Jan. 29, 
1843. Educated in Ohio 
and at Allegheny College; 
taught in public schools; 
entered Union army as pri- 
vate in 1861; for meritor- 
ious conduct received pro- 
motions; brevet-major at 
close of war; served almost 
continuously in Congress 
from 1877 to 1891; framed 
in 1890 McKinley Tariff 
Bill; governor of Ohio, 
1892-1896; President of 
United States, 1897-1901; 
shot bv assassin, Sept. 5, 
1901. Died Buffalo, N. Y., 
Sept. 14, 1901. 



After his inaugnration, Presi- 
dent McKinley called Congress to- 
gether in special session; and in 
July, 1897, the Wilson-Gorman Act was replaced by the 
Dingley tariff, which raised many of the duties T^e pingiey 
higher than they had been under the McKinley 
tariff bill of 1890. 



Tariff Act 



THE WAR WITH SPAIN 

During McKinley 's administration, special attention 

was attracted to the affairs of Cuba. Although, for many 

years, a state of rebellion against Spanish authority had 

existed in that island, conditions had grown much worse 



378 



THE STORY OF OUR OWN TIMES 



under the policies of the Spanish General Weyler, who 
finally concentrated over 200,000 men, women, and 
children in camps guarded by soldiers. Those confined in 
Conditions tlicsc camps died in great numbers from insuffi- 
in Cuba cient food and shelter, or from disease. The 
property interests and the lives of United States citizens 
were frequently in danger, and there was also the danger 
of yellow fever being extended to American seaports, due 





ii)>»^--&m&am':n*igmti^ireCS9tt'' 



THE TJ. S. BATTLESHIP " MAINE " ENTERING HAVANA HARBOR 

to th^ lack of control of that disease in Cuba. In June, 
1897, the United States Government protested against a 
continuance of these conditions. Consequently, Spain 
promised reforms and some measure of self-government 
to the Cuban people ; but conditions remained practically 
as they were. On the 15tli of February, 1898, the Amer- 
ican battleship Maine was blown up in the harbor of 
Havana. More than 250 officers and sailors lost their 
lives, either by drowning or by the explosion itself, which 
seemed to be due to a submarine mine. 

In the United States the sentiment against Spain in- 



DEWEY'S VICTORY IN MANILA BAY 



379 



creased gTeatly ; and, after fruitless negotiations between 
the two nations, the United States Government, on 
War April 20, demanded the withdrawal of Spanish 
Declared ^j,QQpg fYOTR Cuba. Spain refused to withdraw the 
troops, and both countries prepared for war. The Pres- 
ident called for 125,000 volunteers, and this number was 
later increased to 200,000. If any one had entertained any 




Copyright 1898 by Arliell Publishing Company 

THE ANNIHILATION OF THE SPANISH FLEKT IN THE HARBOR OF MANILA 

possible doubt as to the loyalty of the entire country, this 
doubt was now removed. Union and Confederate veterans 
alike responded to the call of war, but this time they 
were fighting" together in the same ranks against a 
common foe. 

On May 1st, Commodore Dewey, who had been in cormnand 
of the Pacific squadron at Hong' Kong at the time that war was 
declared, entered Manila Harbor, in the Philippines, and at- 
tacked the Spanish ships in those waters. In a few hours every 
Spanish ship was sunk or burned. No serious injury was sus- 



380 THE STORY OF OUR OWN TIMES 

tallied by any of the American vessels. The Americans reported 
but a few men slightly wounded,, while the Spanish losses 
Dewey's Victory amounted to Several hundred. Subsequently, a 
in Manila Bay |^j^^ force was Sent to the Philippines under the 
command of General Merritt; and, on August 13th, Manila fell 
into the hands of the Americans, who thereafter controlled the 
Philippine Islands, which had been held by Spain almost from 
the time of their discovery by Magellan in his first voyage around 
the world.* 

In the meantime, a Spanish fleet under Admiral Cervera had 
entered the harbor of Santiago, Cuba, where it was soon block- 
aded by an American fleet under Admiral Sampson. These 
events had taken place in May. In June, an army of 16,000 men 
under Major-General Shafter set out from Tampa, Florida, to 
cooperate with the American fleet under Sampson. On July 1st, 
El Caney and San Juan Hill, part of the defences of Santiago, 
Biockad of Cerv r Were assaulted by the American troops, and, 
and the Campaign after two davs of fighting, wcre carried by 

in Cuba '^ « 

storm. Much of the success of these two en- 
gagements was due to the energy and experience of Major- 
Generals Henry W. Lawton, a Union veteran of the War of 
Secession, and Joseph Wheeler, a Confederate veteran. The 
regular infantry fought well, aided by the charge of volunteer 
troops, part of whom were known as the "Rough Riders" under 
command of Colonel Leonard Wood and Lieutenant-Colonel 
Theodore Roosevelt. In spite, however, of the American suc- 
cesses in storming the outer works of the Spanish fortifications, 

* Commodore Dewey had a difficult and delicate situation to handle 
in Manila Bay. Admiral Diedericks, commander of a squadron of German 
ships superior in strength to that of Dewey, openly showed his sympathy 
with the Spanish and disregarded Dewey's rules of blockade, besides com- 
mitting some pointed breaches of naval custom or etiquette. Finally, the 
American commander felt obliged to send a sharp warning to the German 
to the effect that " if he wants a tight, he can have it right now." Dewey 
was much encouraged in his stand by the expressed approval of the com- 
mander of a British squadron, which also was at Manila Bay. (Cf. 
Captain D. N. Ingraham's challenge to the Austrians at Smyrna in 
1853, p. 283.) 



TREATY OF PEACE; CUBA FREED 381 

the troops could not exert their full strength, because they were 
not properly prepared for war. They suffered from insufficient 
supplies and from clothing- ill adapted to the tropical heat. A 
great many died of disease due to unsanitary conditions and 
spoiled food, not only on the island of Cuba, but also in the 
military camps in the United States.'^ 

On July 3rd, while Admiral Sampson was absent and the 
American fleet was, in actual practice, under the command of 
Commodore Schley, the Spanish fleet under Admiral Cervera 
attempted to escape. Cervera, however, was vigorousl}^ attacked 
in a running fight extending for many miles, until every one of 
the Spanish warships was sunk or beached under the 

^ . ^ ^ p Destruction 

destructive and accurate fire of the American gun- of cervera's 

. . . . , Squadron 

ners. American superiority was shown by the fact 
that only one man was killed and one wounded, both of whom 
were on Schley's flagship, the Brooklyn, while the Spanish loss 
was over 500 in killed and wounded. 

Two weeks later Santiago surrendered to the Amer- 
ican army. Subsequently, in a midsummer campaign, 
General Miles secured possession of Porto Rico. On 
August 12, Spain was ready to yield, and by the terms 
of a treaty, signed December 10, she gave up Cuba 
and ceded to the United States Porto Rico, treaty of Peace; 
Guam, and the Philippine Islands. For ^^^^ ^^^^^ 
the last-diamed islands the United States agreed to pay 
$20,000,000. Thus Spanish rule in the western hemi- 
sphere, dating from 1492, w^as ended. By a strange co- 
incidence, the last remaining vessel of Cervera's fleet 

^ Afterwards an investigation exposed a great deal of " grafting " and 
other political corruption, together with inefficiency in the political or 
civilian side of the War Department. Secretary of War, Alger, sometime 
subsequent to) the official investigation of the conduct of the war. was 
requested to resign, and McKinley appointed as his successor Elihu Root, 
of Xew York. 



382 THE STORY OF OUR OWN TIMES 

was the Cristobal Colon, named after the man who dis- 
covered and claimed the New World in the name of the 
King and Queen of Spain. 

The United States held control of the government of 
Cuba until the' Cubans had drawn up their Constitution, 
and had also accepted certain conditions laid down by 
Congress. Thereafter the Republic of Cuba was pro- 
claimed on the 20th of May, 1902.« 

It is remarkable that the declaration of war against 
Spain should have passed Congress on April 19, the an- 
niversary of the first bloodshed in the Revolution, as well 
as of the first bloodshed in the War of Secession. An 
interesting incident of the war with Spain was the re- 
markable trip of the battleship Oregon from San Fran- 
cisco around Cape Horn in order to join Sampson's fleet 
in the West Indies. The declaration on the part of the 
United States government that it would retire from Cuba 
after setting it free from Spanish control was ridiculed 
in every country of the civilized world. Few believed that 
the United States would live up to its promise. 

But the greatest achievement of the United States 
government in connection with the liberation of Cuba was 

® It is worth noting that the voluntary withdrawal of the United States 
from Cuba astonished statesmen and diplomats of the Old World. They 
did not believe that the American government would live up to its pre- 
war promises of liberating Cuba, but would surely find some plausible 
pretext to remain in possession of the island. Moreover, during the period 
of American control Cuba was changed from a " veritable pest house of 
fever " and other diseases into a healthful country. Schools were estab- 
lished and the Cuban children were given object lessons in civil government 
by the establishment in them of several thousand " school republics " under 
which the children learned the principles of self-government. The chief 
credit for this remarkable transformation in the administration of affairs 
is due to General Leonard Wood. (See p. 383 for the victories of American, 
medical science over tropical diseases.) 



I 

TREATY OF PEACE; CUBA FREED 383 

brought about, not by sailors or soldiers, but by a group 
of army surgeons, who freed the island from the deadly 
epidemics of yellow fever. This triumph of peace is of 
inestimable value to the whole world, and it was made 

1 possible by the discovery that a species of mosquito was 
the carrier of the dreaded disease. Under the direction 
of Major Walter Reed, M.D., and his assistants, Doctors 
James Carroll, Aristides Agramonte, and Jesse W. 
Lazear, a number of brave men permitted various tests to 
be made upon them. Doctors Lazear and Carroll know- 
ingly permitted themselves to be bitten by infected 
mosquitoes, thus contracting the fever, from which Dr. 
Lazear died. The deaths, a few years later, of Major 
Reed and Dr. Carroll were attributable to the effect of 

J their work and experiments in Cuba. Both may be said 
to have perished in the service, not of their country only, 
but of all humanity. Their names should, therefore, be 
forever enrolled in the splendid company of scientists, 
statesmen, and patriots who have ennobled the pages of 
United States history. 

The natives of the Philippine Islands, who had been in 
rebellion against Spanish authority, welcomed the Amer- 
ican troops and worked with them. These natives 
expected that the United States would give them inde- 
pendence at the end of the war with Spain. Wlien this 
was denied them, they rose in revolt. This revolt cost the 
United States heavily in money and lives; but it was 
finally suppressed after the capture, in 1901, of the Phil- 
ippine leader, Aguinaldo. 

In 1899, John Hay, Secretary of State, addressed notes 

' to Japan and the leading European powers in regard 



384 THE STORY OF OUR OWN TIMES 

to what seemed the plan of certain of these governments 
to secure practical control of China by means of grants or 
Affairs in conccssions. To tliese notes Great Britain and 
the Orient j^p^^n returned replies favorable to the political 
or territorial integrity of China, while Russia and 
Germany evaded the issue. In the meantime, the Chinese 
were aroused by the threatened infringement of their 
independence. In 1900, the society known as the ^'Box- 
ers" so stirred up the people against foreigners that even 
the embassies in Peking were attacked. The Chinese 
Government was unable to put down the rebellion, which 
was at last crushed by the armies of the allied powers, 
including the forces of the United States. An indemnity 
of $333,000,000 was demanded of China by the allied 
nations, of which $24,000,000 was the share allotted to the 
United States. Our government thought this amount 
excessive and remitted more than half of the claim, 
or $13,000,000.' 

In 1900, the Republicans renominated McKinley for President 
and chose Theodore Roosevelt, of New York, as their candidate 
for Vice-President. The Democrats ag-ain nominated William 
Re-election Jennings Bryan, who declared that the relinquish- 
of McKinley ^^^^^^^ ^f United States control of the Philippines as 
colonial possessions was the paramount issue. The Democrats 
received the support of a number of noted Republicans on this 
issue, but the Republicans were again victorious and McKinley 
and Roosevelt received a large majority of the electoral vote.^ 

^ The Chinese showed their gratitude over this liberal action of the I 
American government by setting aside the money thus returned to pay 
for the education of Chinese students in the United States. 

* In this election the Social-Democratic party polled 94,000 votes for 
their candidate, Eugene V. Debs. In 1904 Debs received 400,000 votes. 
In 1902 the Socialist vote had more than doubled, but fell off to 250,000 
in 1916. In 1920, this vote showed exceptional strength, estimated at over 
900,000 (sliortlv after the election). 



PLANS FOR INTEROCEAN WATERWAY 



385 




President McKinley had served but a few months of 
his second term when, on the occasion of a visit to the 
Pan-American Exposition at Buffalo, Septem- Death of 
ber 6, 1901, he was struck down by the bullet of McK^n'ey 
an anarchist. The wound proved fatal, and, on Septem- 
ber 14, the President died. Theo- 
dore Roosevelt at once took the oath 
of office as President, and pledged 
himself to carry out the policies of 
his predecessor. 

With accustomed energ^^ and 
directness, President Roosevelt took 
up plans for the constmction of a 
canal from the Atlantic to the Pa- 
cific. Two routes were considered. 
One was through the Isthmus of 
Panama along the lines of abandoned 
French excavations begun in 1881 by 
the same man (de Lesseps) who, in 
1869, had successfully completed the 
^reat Suez Canal. The other route 
iroposed was through Nicaragua. 
This was longer, but considerable 
)odies of inland water could be util- 
zed for navigation. The Panama 
•oute was finally chosen. The 
Jlayton-Bulwer treaty with Great 
3ritain (1850) was abrogated, and the Hay-Pauncefote 
reaty, containing more liberal provisions for Roosevelt 
he United States as the builder of tlie canal, was Fnte"r^oceIn 
mbstituted for it (1901). Secretaiy Hay forth- ^^^^^^^^ 
vdth set about negotiating a treaty with Colombia, the 

25 



Copyright, 1906, by Clinedinst 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT 

Born New York, Oct. 27, 
1858. Was graduated Har- 
vard, 1880; member New 
Yorklegislature, 1882-1884 ; 
appointed to Civil Service 
Commission 1889-95; pres- 
ident board of New York 
police commissioners, 1895— 
1897; assistant secretary' of 
na%'y, 1897; resigned to 
enter United States army 
in Spanish war; promoted 
colonel, 1898; governor of 
New York, 1899-1900; Vice- 
President with William 
McKinley, 1901, succeed- 
ing to Presidency on death 
of latter, Sept. 14, 1901; 
elected President, 1 904 ; be- 
came nominee of Progres- 
sive Party in 1912. Died 
Jan. 6, 1919. 



386 



THE STORY OF OUR OWN TIMES 



Panama Revolts 
and the 
United States 
Secures Right 
to a Canal Zone 



terms of which were to include a ninety-nine years ' lease 
of a strip of land six miles wide, with the 
right of renewal by the United States and 
the payment to Colombia of $10,000,000, 
in cash, with an annual rental of $250,000, 
beginning nine years later. This proposal, liowever, was 
rejected by the Colombian Senate. 

In the State of Panama, dissatis- 
faction with the decision of the 
Colombian Senate manifested itself 
at once, and this disaifeotion the 
United States government was ac- 
cused of fostering. An insurrection 
followed in November, 1903. The 
Colombian government hurried 
troops to Colon, but, under orders 
jfj^ ^ S^ m from Washington, United States 

■^m "Wm. marines prevented their transpor- 

tation to the scene of trouble on the 
ground that the transportation pro- 
posed would interfere with free 
transit across the Isthmus of 
Panama, as guaranteed by the 
treaty between the United States 
and Colombia. The Colombian 
troops returned home and the 
insurrectionists proclaimed the re- 
public of Panama, which the govern- 
ment of the United States promptly 
recognized and prepared to protect 
from attack by its parent country. 
Before the end of November a i 




Copyright, lyis, by C. R. Gray 



PANAMA CANAL ZONE 



PANAMA REVOLTS 



387 



treaty was negotiated with Panama on the basis of the 
one rejected by Colombia, with the difference that the 
United States acquired sovereign rights over a strip of 
land ten miles in width, and guaranteed the integrity of 
the new republic. Construction of the canal was ener- 
getically beg-un in 1904. Later, this great work was given 
over to the management of Colonel G. W. Goethals and 




UECLAIMING ARID LANDS IN THE WEST BY RESERVOIRS AND IRRIGATION 

The Truckee-Carson Reclamation Project. Opening ceremony, June 17, 1905. 
In 1902, by Act of Congress, a "reclamation fund" was created from money re- 
ceived from the sale of public lands. The illustration presents one of the important 
results. 

W. C. Gorgas. The former directed the engineering and 
general management of the enterprise, while the latter 
instituted a system of sanitation by which a formerly un- 
healthful region was made a place of safety for the 
thousands of men engaged in the undertaking.^ 

^Tlie negotiations witli Colombia were so long drawn out and so 
changeable that President Roosevelt afterwards declared : " You could no 
more make an agreement with the Colombia rulers than you could nail 
currant jelly to a wall." It is said, on good authority, (Prof. Paul L. 
Haworth) that there had been more than fifty-three revolutions in Colom- 



388 THE STORY OF OUR OWN TIMES 

President Roosevelt's first administratioiL was marked 
by several large strikes, which caused considerable dis- 
tress throughout the East. The first was the strike of 
the anthracite coal miners in Pennsylvania, begun in 
May, 1902, and lasting for several months. The 
l^frcu^y^ price of coal rose steadily, and, with winter ap- 
proaching, fuel became so scarce in the large 
cities that relief committees were organized. In October, 
President Roosevelt secured the consent of operators and 
miners to submit their differences to a board of arbitra- 
tion. Other strikes occurred among the employes of the 
meat packers in Chicago and among the mill workers in 
Massachusetts, a settlement of the latter dispute being 
brought about by Governor Douglas qf that State. 

In 1904, the Republicans nominated President Roosevelt and 
Charles W. Fairbanks, of Indiana. The Democrats nominated 
^, .. . Alton B. Parker, of New York, and Henrv G. Davis, 

Election of ... ^ 

Roosevelt and of "West Virginia. Roosevelt and Fairbanks were 

Fairbanks i i • • • • t i • i 

elected, by overwhelming* majorities both in the popu- 
lar vote and in the electoral colleges. In the latter the vote stood 
336 to 140 in favor of the Republican nominee. 

President Roosevelt's administration was marked by 

extensive investigations into the conduct of great financial 

and business corporations. Much corruption and fraud 

was shown to exist and steps were taken to eradicate "the 

evil. Powerful aggregations of capital 

Extravagant Use of oo o x ^ 

Money in Elections; had bccu in the liabit of coutributmg 

Railway Regulation *=• 

heavily to the campaign funds of both 
great political parties. It was also disclosed that rail- 

bia in fifty-three years, and that in 1900 Vice-President Maroquin, with 
whom the United States government was attempting to deal, had pro- 
claimed himself Chief Executive " in the absence of the President," whom 
he himself had put in confinement. 



CONSERVATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES 389 

road corporations bad been giving- special rates to 
favored sbippers ; and, in otber cases, bad been arbitrary 
and exorbitant in transportation charges. Congress, 
therefore, passed the Hepburn bill, intended better to 
regulate the railroads through increasing the member- 
ship and powers of the Interstate Commerce Commission. 
In these matters the President led in attacking certain 
forms of special privilege, while Congress, especially the 
Senate, was reluctant to follow, so that during the greater 
part of Roosevelt's term of office the Executive and the 
Legislative branches of the Government were at odds. 
For this reason, many of the President's policies were not 
at once adopted or altogether rejected. They were, how- 

' ever, aggressively brought to the attention of the public 
by the President, who received a remarkable degree of 
popular support. One of the most important of the 
policies brought forward was that of the conservation of 
conservation of natural resources. The ^^^^^^ Resources 
President earnestly emphasized the growing need for 
such conservation in forest, stream, and mine. Although 
the response of Congress was not a hearty one at first, his 

j ideas were partially put into practice through govern- 
ment appointees who labored with this end in view.^*^ 

Although the preceding Republican administration had been 
called upon to weather a period of financial and business de- 
pression in 1903 and another in 1907, the Republican party 
never went into a political combat with better prospects of suc- 
cess. This was due largely to President Roosevelt's personal 
popularity and the wide endorsement of his policies. When, 
therefore, the Republican convention nominated Wil liam H. Taft, 

^» See also p. 387. 



390 



THE STORY OF OUR OWN TIMES 




of Ohio, who was endorsed by Roosevelt, the latter 's followers 
El tion of g'ave the nominee their heart}^ support. For Vice- 

wiiiiam Howard President the Republicans nominated James S. 
Sherman, of New York. The Democrats, advo- 
cating' a policy of tariff reform and trust regulation, for the 
third time nominated William Jennings Bryan, with John W. 

Kern, of Indiana, as their candidate for 
Vice-President. The confidence of the 
Republicans was justified in the result of 
the elections, and Taft and Sherman re- 
ceived 321 electoral votes to 162 for Bryan 
and Kern. 

Although the Republican party 
had always advocated a protective 
tariff, there had been within the 
ranks so much outcry against the 
Dingley rates that the Republican 
platform promised a revision. Upon 
his inauguration in 1909, therefore, 
President Taft called a special ses- 
sion of Congress to take up this ques- 
tion. Subsequently Congress revised 
the tariff, but in such a way as to 
cause considerable weight to be at- 
tached to the statement of the opposi- 
tion that the rates were revised in 
the interest of those profiting by high protection rather 
than in the interest of the consumer. At 

Reaction Against 

^^e Republican auy rate, a strong revulsion of sentiment 
set in against the Republicans, leading, two 
years after their overwhelming victory in 1908, to the loss 
of the House of Representatives to the Democrats. 

During the debate on the tariff. President Taft had 



Copyright by Clinedinst 



WILLIAM H. TAFT 

Born Cincinnati, Ohio, 
Sept. 15, 1857. Was grad- 
uated at Yale, 1878; judge 
Superior Court of Cin- 
cinnati, 1887-1890; U. S. 
solicitor-general 1890-1892; 
judge U. S. circuit court, 
1892-1900; governor Phil- 
ippines, 1901-1904; sec- 
retary of war in Roose- 
velt's cabinet, 1904; pro- 
visional governor of Cuba, 
1906; elected President of 
United States, 1908; de- 
feated for re-election in 
1912; lecturer at Yale Uni- 
versity, 1913. 



DIRECT ELECTION OF U. S. SENATORS 391 

sent a special message to Congress urging the passage of 
a constitutional amendment empowering Con- 
gress to levy a general income tax on indi- p^op^s'ed-^xhe 
viduals. He also proposed a tax upon the Amendment 
earnings of corporations with incomes in 
excess of $5,000. The proposed amendment, passed 
both houses by the requisite majorities, was later ratified 
by three-fourths of the States and was proclaimed in 
force early in February, 1913, thus becoming the Six- 
teenth Amendment to the Federal Constitution.^^ 

The President also strongly emphasized the advis- 
ability of extending the jurisdiction of the international 
courts of arbitration, such as that already estab- 
lished at The Hague. His recommendation on Treaties 

Proposed 

these pomts was coldly received in the Senate; 
and, in the case of proposed treaties with Great Britain 
and France, tvere so amended in that body as to cause the 
treaties to be abandoned. 

For many years there had been a strong popular de- 
mand for the election of United States Senators directly 
by the voters of the States rather than by 

,," I • 1 i rm • J j^ T Direct Election 

the legislatures. This movement was stead- of united states 

1 rN • IP 1 T • Senators; The 

ilv blocked m the Senate itself, but during seventeenth 

' ^ Amendment 

the administration of President Taft the 
friends of direct elections succeeded in securing (May 13, 
1912) the necessary two-thirds majority to pass a con- 
stitutional amendment providing for such elections. This 
was submitted to the States, the necessary three-fourths 
of which approved it, and the Seventeenth Amendment 
was proclaimed May 31, 1913. 

" See p. 496. 



392 THE STORY OF OUR OWN TIMES 

President Taft recommended also and secured the 

passage of a law providing for the establishment of a 

savinsfs bank system in connection with the United 

Postal 

Savings States Post Office. This system provided for the 

System *^. 

payment of two per cent, mterest on money de- 
posited at the post offices designated. Under the new 
plan millions of dollars, chiefly in small amounts, were in 
a very short time deposited through the medium of the 
postal service. 

With the support of President Taft, Congressman 
David J. Lewis, Democrat, brought to a successful issue a 
Parcels Post long-continued fight for the inauguration of a 
Inaugurated parcels post systcm. A bill to this effect passed 
both houses of Congress in 1912, and the system was put 
into operation January 1, 1913. At first the size and 
weight of packages accepted were much limited, but later, 
during the administration of President Wilson, the Post- 
master-General authorized very material extensions in 
the service. 

During the latter part of President Taft's term, considerable 

dissatisfaction with the course of the Administration was felt 

within the ranks of the Republican party. In Congress, the 

leaders of the revolt within the party were called ' ' insurgents, ' ' 

, but later, imder the leadership of ex-President Roose- 

Presidential , , , ^ -r. • t ^^i 

Campaign velt, they took the name oi rrogressives. in the 
Republican convention at Chicago, in 1912, a great 
contest for the control of the party arose between the Progressives 
and the Taft adherents, Roosevelt and the Progressives were 
defeated, and Taft and Sherman were again nominated, where- 
upon a large number of the Progressive delegates withdrew from 
the convention. Some of those thus bolting, and others from 
the different States, met in Chicago and nominated ex-President 
Roosevelt and Hiram W. Johnson, of California. 



REDUCTION OF TARIFF RATES 



393 



In the meantime, the Democrats held their convention at 
Baltimore, and, after a series of stormy sessions, nominated 
Woodrow Wilson, of New Jersey, and Thomas R. Marshall, of 
Indiana. The Democrats pledged themselves to reduce materially 
the tariff duties. The Republicans were inclined to defend the 
1 measure they had passed during the Taf t administration, and to 
appeal to the more conservative sentiment of the country. The 
Progressive party advocated many social reforms, ^, ^. 

-, 1 • T 1 . , T -r^ -, , Election of 

and emphasized the conservation by the Federal Woodrow wiison, 
government of national resources, but said com- 
paratively little about the tariff question. A vigorous campaign 
was conducted by the candidates, which resulted in the election 
of Woodrow Wilson by an overw^helming 
vote in the electoral college, although, like 
Lincoln, in 1860, he did not receive a 
majority of the popular vote over the 
other candidates. Four hundred and 
thirtj^-five electoral votes were cast for 
Wilson and Marshall, eighty-one for 
Roosevelt and Johnson, and eight for 
Taft and Butler. 

Upon his inauguration in 1913, 
President Wilson called a special 
session of Congress to fulfill the tariff 
reform pledges of the Democratic 
platform. On this subject he deliv- 
ered his message in person, becoming 
thereby the first President since John 
Adams to address Congress in this 
manner. As in the case of nearly all 
tariff legislation since the days of 
Madison and Monroe, there was protracted debate over 
the proposed changes. Much pressure from Reduction of 
within their own party was brought to bear ^^"^ ^^^^^ 
upon the Democratic leaders to secure exemption from 




WOODROW WILSON 

Born Staunton, Va., 
Dec. 28, 1856. Was grad- 
uated Princeton, 1879; 
pursued studies in law and 
political science at the 
University of Virginia and 
at Johns Hopkins Uni- 
versity; practised law, 
Atlanta, Ga., 1882-1883, en- 
gaged in educational work 
and became president of 
Princeton University, 1902; 
elected Governor of New 
Jersey, 1910, and President 
of United States, 1912. 



394 THE STORY OF OUR OWN TIMES 

the general reduction of certain specified articles, suck as 
sugar; but the President especially, as the responsible 
head of his party, stood firm, and, after a debate of sev- 
eral months' duration, an act was passed that marked 
the most material reductions made in the tariff rates for 
over half a century.^ ^ 

Upon the passage of the tariff act, known as the 
Underwood-Simmons Bill, President Wilson urged the 
prolongation of the special session in order to take up the 
Currency pi'obleni of reforming the Federal currency sys- 
Reform -^em. It was generally admitted reorganization 
was needed, and that a system adapted to the war times 
of the middle of the previous century was not suited to 
modern requirements. Statesmen and political econo- 
mists, however, differed greatly as to the methods of 
reform, although practically all agreed in desiring a more 
elastic currency, which w^ould lessen the danger of the 
recurrence of financial panics. After protracted debate. 
Congress passed the Glass-Owen Federal Reserve Bank 
Bill, which provided for a number of ^^ regional reserve 
banks, ' ' under Federal direction. ^-^ 

Another matter insisted upon by the President in 
order to carry out the promises of the Democratic plat- 
speciai fomi, was legislation intended to strengthen the 
Legislation ]jj^^j^(|g ^f i]jq Federal Government in the prose- 
cution of corporations guilty of illegally restraining com- 
petition in trade. Accordingly, the Clayton Anti-Trust 
Act was passed by Congress, and a Federal Trade Com- 
mission was established. 

Under the leadership of President Wilson, who, at 

'- See p. 397. 
^^See p. 401. 



SPECIAL LEGISLATION 



395 



this time, enjoyed exceptional prestige, the Democratic 
party, with the help of many Republicans in Congress, 
passed an exceptional amount of constructive and benefi- 
cent legislation. Even after the World War began to 
flame up in Europe and after both great parties were torn 
asunder by ''divided counsels'' on matters of foreign 




OBLIQCE VIEW OF CAPITOL AND CONGRESSIONAL LIBRARY, WASHINGTON 

import, at least a part of this program of constructive 
domestic legislation continued. Among the acts passed 
during the last half of Wilson's first term may be men- 
tioned: A Good Roads Law, an Agricultural Education 
Act, and a Rural Credits Law. Two of these acts were 
designed, in part, to enable the farmer to get his products 
to market more readily, to help bring dowm the cost of 



396 THE STORY OF OUR OWN TIMES 

transportation, and thereby aid the consumer. The 
Agricultural Education Act was intended, also, to enable 
the farmer to get in touch with better and improved 
methods of raising crops; while the Rural Credits Act 
helped him to secure favorable rates in the money market. 

Other reform measures were passed. One of them 
was a bill regulating the importation and use of injurious 
or habit-forming drugs. (Pure food acts, for the regula- 
tion and sale of foodstuffs, had been urged and passed by 
Congress during Roosevelt's administrations.) Also, 
laws were passed with a view to the development of 
Alaska through the building of a railroad owned and 
operated by the government ; while provisions were made 
for the leasing of coal lands in that great Territory. 

The ^^ Railroad Eight Hour Law" was passed by 
Congress while the country was in the midst of domestic 
dissension created largely by war conditions and unrest. 
It was passed hurriedly with a view to averting a threat- 
ened railroad strike. "While measures to meet the situa- 
tion were being debated, the President appeared before 
Congress and offered a solution which gave the rail- 
road Brotherhoods (1) the eight hour day for which they 
contended and (2) extra pay for overtime. He sug- 
gested (3) that the railroads be enabled to meet the ad- 
ditional expense by charging a higher rate for freight, and 
recommended, in addition, (4) a strong measure which 
would call for a special investigation of such disputes 
before either party to the controversy could legally 
attempt a strike or a lockout. In other words, the Presi- 
dent urged special legislation to safeguard the country 
against the recurrence of any such dangerous threat of 



REVIEW OF TARIFF ISSUE 397 

conflict between capital and labor in the all- important 
matter of public transportation. Subsequently, Congress 
agreed, in the Adamson Law, only upon that part of the 
President's recommendations which granted the de- 
mands of the Brotherhoods; but a commission was 
appointed to study the situation and make re- 
ports thereon. ^^ 

PART II. REVIEW OF TARIFF ISSUE 
CURRENT TOPICS BRIEFLY SUMMARIZED ^^ 

As before stated, during- the administration of President Wil- 
son extraordinary efforts were made to remove the tariff question 
from the sphere of politics, where it had been the football of 
contending' parties ever since John C. Calhoun fathered the 
tariff bill of 1816 (page 240). Indeed, the story of the tariff 
issue runs through the whole of the history of the United States 
from the formation of the Constitution to our o\\ti times. 
Scarcely a session of Congress in a century and a half was free 
from a more or less acrimonious debate between those who advo- 
cated a tariff for revenue onlij — free trade ^^' — and those who 
advocated a tariff for the protection of American manufactures, 
and, in some cases, the raw material as well. As a rule, the 
manufacturing: interests demanded the protective tariff, while the 

^* After the beginning of the Great War in Europe in 1914, to the 
signing of the armistice in November, 1918, the attention of the Govern- 
ment, if not that of tlie people, centered on foreign affairs more than on 
domestic problems. Tho difficulties of solving the domestic problems were 
increased by the war situation, and some of these problems may be said 
to have been the outgrowth of the war. 

^^ To be expanded and elucidated by ' the teacher as need may arise in 
the study by the pupil of the preceding pages. 

^^ " As opposed to protection, free trade means trade or commerce 
subject only to such duties or imports at the custom house as are neces- 
sary to raise revenue for the expenses of government." — Amasa M. Eaton, 
Free Trade vs. Protection. 

" The term free trade, although much discussed, is seldom rightly 
defined. It does not mean the abolition of custom houses." — Philadelphia 
North American, August 7, 1884. 



398 THE STORY OF OUR OWN TIMES 

eoiisimier, who because of the tariff had to pay more for the 
goods he bought, was for free trade/^ 

Prior to the War of Secession, Presidential elections did not 
directly hinge upon the tariff issue, but the tariff question ma- 
terially affected the fate of political parties and factions. As 
previously seen, the tariff of 1828 nearly led to secession by 
South Carolina in 1831, and the recurrence of this issue became 
one of the chief sources of irritation which provoked actual seces- 
sion thirty years later/^ Although the tariff rates were com- 
paratively low from 1857 to 1860, there was a constant sectional 
agitation for raising them. Subsequently, the Republicans, after 
they came into power in 1861, by means of a measure known as 
the Morrill Tariff Bill, raised them to the highest point at any 
time since the passage of the so-called "tariff of abominations." 

High tariff rates continued after the war, and, regardless of 
section, they began to attract the attention of the entire country 
subsequently to the accumulation of huge fortunes and the begin- 
ning of tlie era of great corporations. In 1887, President Cleve- 
land devoted almost the whole of his message to "tariff reform" 
— or the lowering of the high protective duties. In 1888, a 
measure conforming to the President's recommendation was 
passed by a Democratic House, but was blocked by a Republi- 
can Senate. 

The issue went before the country in the elections of that 
3'ear, and although Cleveland received a plurality of 100,000 
votes, the Republicans had a majority of 65 in the electoral 
college and gained the Presidency. Under President Harrison 
the McKinley Tariff bill (page 373) was passed, under which the 
duties were increased. In this act, however, three matters of 

" This distinction cannot be very shaq3ly drawn, however, and many 
" consumers," particularly in the manufacturing communities, believed 
in a high tariff and voted for it. On the other hand, where an entire 
community happened to be agricultural, the prevailing sentiment had been 
for free trade. 

^* " I consider the Civil War as an economic war, just as most wars, 
and as the result of the protective tariff which was a necessity at that 
time, for the North, and thus unavoidable." — Charles P. Steinmetz. — 
From the viewpoint of a scientist and the observations of a European, 
November 25, 1913. 



REVIEW OF TAKIFF ISSUE 



399 



importance should be noted: (1) Raw sugar was admitted from 
Cuba and elsewhere free of duty, while a bounty was paid to the 
American grower; (2) the President was authorized to levy a 
duty on tin plate to help an industry yet to he created, and (3) 
a reciprocity agreement was introduced whereby arrangement 
was made for reduction on certain articles imported from Latin 
America in exchange for similar favors extended to articles 
exported from the United States. 

The tariff again became the chief issue in the contest between 




WEAVIXG "TREE CLOTH," USED IN CONTROLLING THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER FLOODS 

Harrison and Cleveland in 1892, when the latter was elected. In 
the following year, William L. Wilson, of West Virginia, spon- 
sored a tariff reform bill, which passed the House, but which was 
badly mutilated in the Senate through the defection from the 
slim Democratic majority in that body of three Senators. The 
bill became a law, although President Cleveland refused to sign 
it on the ground that his party had failed to fulfill its platform 
pledge to the people. This bill carried a two per cent, tax on 
all incomes above $4000 ; but this tax was later declared uncon- 
stitutional' by» the United States Supreme Court.^® 

^To overcome this objection, the Sixteenth Amendment to the Con- 
stitution was passed by the States, and proclaimeil in 1913, during the 
administration of President Wilson. 



400 THE STORY OF OUR OWN TIMES 

111 1909, the tariff question again came to the front when 
President Taft called a special session of Congress in an effort 
to do what Cleveland had attempted ; viz., to revise the tariff 
downward. This time the effort was to be made in accordance 
with the pledge of the Republican platform of 1908. Again, the 
House of Representatives lowered the duties as it had done under 
Cleveland, but when the measure reached the Senate, its revision, 
in many instances, was reversed from lower duties to 
higher ones. 

This failure helped to split or weaken the Republican party, 
as the tariff failure of 1894 had weakened public confidence in the 
Democrats. Therefore, when the Democratic party was put in 
power on another promise of reform, the Democratic leaders had 
before them the history of this bi-party record of unfulfillment 
and subsequent defeat. Consequently, Congress passed a meas- 
ure which, for the first time in thirty years, carried out a plat- 
form pledge on the issue of ''tariff reform." This was accom- 
plished, after long debate, by the Underwood-Simmons bill. It 
reduced the import duties on over nine hundred articles and 
placed on the free list raw wool, iron ore, steel rails, rough lum- 
ber, and, for a time, sugar, while free trade was established with 
the Philippines.-^ Three years later. Congress created a bi-parti- 
san' Tariff Commission authorized and instructed to gather in- 
formation on tariff problems with a view to solving them in a 
scientific manner. By this method, when it should seem essential 
or highly desirable that the rates be raised for revenue or pro- 
tection on certain articles, the increase would be recommended 
only after a comprehensive investigation which had brought out 
facts or conditions favorable to the proposed increase. This 
method of procedure was to take the place of the hitherto some- 
what haphazard or interested advocacy of certain rates by mem- 
bers of Congress urged on by this or the other special interest or 
industry. This ''urging" reached such proportions during the 
discussion of the Underwood tariff bill that President Wilson, 
fearing the defeat of the measure from this special pressure, 

*Tlie sugar provision split the Democratic ranks. It aroused intense 
opposition in the Louisiana sugar-cane belt and in some parts of the West, 
where the beet-sugar industry had taken hold. 



REVIEW OF CURRENCY LEGISLATION 401 

issued an emphatic public statement exposing- what he termed 
the ''extraordinary exertions" of an "insidious and numerous 
lobby." This led CongTess to investigate the "lobby evil," and 
the investigation, which extended back thirty years, brought to 
light many startling facts concerning the methods used in in- 
fluencing legislation in the past. 

Review of Currency Legislation ; Panics and Their 

Prevention 

The next legislation taken up by Congress was of even more 
far-reaching importance, the successful outcome of which at the 
outbreak of the World War seems to have saved the nation from 
what must have proved the most disastrous panic of its history. 
This legislation involved the effort to put the currency system 
of the country on a sound and scientific basis, Financial experts 
agree that, prior to 1913, the currency and banking system of 
the United States was the least scientific and the most ' ' inelastic ' ' 
in use in any of the great nations. Under this system panics 
were likely to paralyze business whenever money happened to 
get ' ' tight, ' ' or scarce, or in case essential connnodities, or credit 
itself, happened to be "cornered" by a group of powerful men 
or corporations. 

The Federal Reserve Act, passed in December, 1913, estab- 
lished a series of twelve Federal Reserve Banks at convenient 
points throughout the country. Although this system has many 
points in common with Alexander Hamilton's plan for one 
great central bank revived by the Democratic-Republican 
party in 1816 (page 240), it also bears at least one resemblance 
to President Jackson 's plan in that it provides for the wddest pos- 
sible distribution of government and other funds or surplus. 
The Federal Reserve plan of 1913, however, did away with many 
of the disadvantages of Hamilton's plan, whereby a single bank 
might exert a powerful influence in political affairs, and it did 
away altogether with the looseness of the plan proposed and 
carried out by Jackson. Certainly, the Federal Reserve Act 
greatly modified the National Banking Act, which, in 1863, was 
devised to meet a critical situation in the midst of the great 
26 



402 THE STORY OF OUR OWN TIMES 

American conflict, but whicli had broken down in numerous cases 
thereafter, and had failed to furnish relief in financial crises.-^ 
Whatever the defects of the Federal Reserve Act, the belief 
has g'ained ground that it will prevent the recurrence of periods 
of panic and business depression, which had been the dread of 
the business of the country since the foundation of the Republic. 
Panics or periods of serious disturbance in business had occurred 
in 1814 under Madison ; in 1818 under Monroe ; in 1826 under 
John Quincy Adams; in 1837 under Van Buren; in 18-18 under 
Polk ; in 1857 under Buchanan ; in 1864 under Lincoln ; in 1867 
under Johnson; in 1869 and 1873 under Grant; in 1893 under 
Cleveland, and in 1907 under Roosevelt. In many of these cases, 
the distress caused throughout the land was almost equal to 

2^ A number of the so-called " popular " provisions of the Federal 
Reserve Act were warmly opposed by noted bankers, brokers, and authorities 
on finance. They expressed no little alarm over the effect of these pro- 
visions; but, within a year, the Act had proved of inestimable value in 
lielping the country stand up under the shock of the beginnings of the 
Great War in Europe, when all Stock Exchanges were forced to close and 
declare a moratorium or suspension of payments. 

The Reserve Act was for a time known as the Glass-Owen bill, from 
Representative Carter Glass, of Virginia, who led the majority party in 
the House, and Senator Robert L. OAven, of Oklalioma, who sponsored the 
bill in the Senate. Besides establishing a system of Reserve Banks, the 
act provided for a governing body over all, called the Federal Reserve 
Board, consisting of the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Agri- 
culture, and the Comptroller of the Currency, together with four other 
members appointed by the President. 

As an illustration of the operation of the Federal Reserve Act, it may 
be added that, under its provisions, a small bank was enabled to loan 
money in rural communities to producer's of farm products. Short time 
loans were made at regular rates of interest, and the producers' notes were 
endorsed by the bank and sent as collateral to a Reserve Bank or one of 
its branches. Money for the harvesting and ty-ansporting of crops toas 
immediately forthcoming. Under the old plan, the small bank could not 
always secure funds to finance such emergencies, and crops were often 
wastetl. In 1920, the Reserve Bank system exerted its power to minimize 
unnecessary loans ; i.e., for purely speculative purposes, so that the finances 
of the country should be held for essential enterprises. Furthermore, the 
Reserve Bank Note, based upon the credit of the country, made possible 
the financing of the Great War. Except for brief periods, previously to 
the passage of the Act, currency was based upon gold, silver, or United 
States bonds and issued in limited quantities. 



INFLUENCE OF THE WEST AND THE SOUTH 403 

that of actual war. American homes as well as business houses, 
large and small, were wrecked, and, in the wake of each panic 
wave, appeared a trail of bankrupts and suicides among the 
hundreds and thousands of unfortunates who had borrowed 




Reproduced by permission The Philadelphia Commercial Museum 

ROLLING STRUCTURAL STEEL, PENCOTD IRON WORKS, PHILADELPHIA COUNTY 

Rolling structural steel. The powerful rollers are cooled by sprays of water. In 
1913 over 23,000,000 tons of steel products were produced in the United States. 

money or extended their business on the rising tide, and were left 
without funds or credit in the ebb that followed. 



Influence of the West and the South Upon National Life 

AND Politics 

From the beginning, in its expansion and in the unparalleled 
rapidity of the development of its vast domain, the West exerted 
a peculiar and powerful influence upon American history and 
government. In conjunction with certain Southern character- 
istics, it made for democratizing social customs and political life. 
This was particularly illustrated in Jackson's administration. 



404 THE STORY OF OUR OWN TIMES 

Such, also, had been the case under Jefferson, who may be called 
the first g'reat champion of western development ; and it mani- 
fested itself under Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson. 

Jefferson, Jackson, and Lincoln had each followed upon a 
period of form and ceremony in which their immediate prede- 
cessors and their following' took a certain pride and delight. The 
manners, methods, and associates of each in turn had somewhat 
shocked an influential class of conservative Easterners. In each 
case this latter element felt that the government of the Republic 
had fallen into the hands of "demagogues" and an "uncouth 
mob" of untrained and incompetent officials. The Federalist 
denunciation of Jefferson may be illustrated by the diary of 
Gouverneur Morris, in which w^e read : "Wednesday, January 18, 
1804, I dined at Rufus King's with General Alexander Hamil- 
ton. They were both alarmed at the conduct of our rulers, and 
think the Constitution about to be overthrown. They apprehend 
a bloody anarchy. I apprehend an anarchy in which property, 
not lives, will be sacrificed. ' ' 

A similar alarm was raised in the Northeast over the election 
of Andrew Jackson ; and later, representatives of the ' ' better 
class" of Easterners waited upon Abraham Lincoln "sym- 
pathetically but regretfully^," suggesting that he withdraw his 
name as a candidate for renomination in 1864. 

The g:rowth or expansion of the West has been taken up from 
time to time in previous chapters, but the especial problem of the 
West affecting immigration and foreign relations will be con- 
sidered as a separate topic in a subsequent review (page 408).^- 

In regard to the period prior to the War of Secession, gov- 
ernment in the South has been associated in the popular imagina- 
tion with a kind of ruling class or aristocracy. As a matter of 

^ It should not be understood that this review of the good influence 
of the progressive West is in the nature of a general reflection on the 
more conservative East; for it is equally true that, on numerous occasions, 
the strong conservative influences of the East have saved the country from 
hasty measures and many ills that must have resulted therefrom. Extremes 
on either side have pulled against each other; and, as a result, the United 
States has been a Republic representing, as nearly as possible, perhaps, 
the Golden Mean in Goverment between an irresponsible autocracy, on 
the one hand, and an equally irresponsible unlimited democracy on the other. 



INFLUENCE OF THE WEST AND THE SOUTH 405 

fact, however, the great leaders of those movements which resulted 
in giving- the masses of the people a greater participation in the 
government came from the South, or were born there, while those 
who favored aristocratic control of the Federal government came, 
for the most part, from the North and East, The former were 
represented by Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Jackson, William H. 
Harrison, Lincoln, and Johnson. Two of these, Jackson and 
Johnson, were associated with Tennessee and the Southwest, while 
Harrison and Lincoln, although born in the South, were, at the 
time of their election, associated with the Northwest. Alwaj^s, 
however, the union of the West with the South made for a 
greater measure of democracy in the management or conduct of 
the government. 

One of the greatest contributions of the "Old South" to the 
sphere of political affairs was the exceptionally high standard of 
honesty shown by its leaders in public life. This was due to a 
number of causes, perhaps the chief among these being that the 
Southern leaders were not obliged to compete with men who 
sought the support of certain venal elements that thrive best in 
densely populated communities. Comparatively speaking, before 
the War of Secession, the South had few large cities and almost 
no unassimilated voting element of population, so that the special 
ills of the bod}' politic which seriously affected the cities of the 
North under the control of either great party were not associated 
with the South under the old regime. Political debates Avere held 
in the open. There was a sturdy individual integrity in public 
office, and even charges of graft or corruption brought against 
a man in public life were rare, because, if made, the accuser knew 
that under the social code of that section, he must "make good." 
If he made good his charge, his opponent was publich' disgraced 
on the open hustings of an essentially rural community. Other- 
wise, the accuser was held to an iramediate and personal 
accounting. 

From the close of the Reconstruction period, the South began 
to develop its vast economic and commercial resources, in addition 
to its agricultural industries, which had to adapt themselves to 
new conditions in the effort to recover from enormous losses in 
war and in the decade follo^dng. First of all, the Southern 



406 THE STORY OF OUR OWN TIMES 

whites were determined to preserve their political heritage for 
their own race, and they were equally determined not to share 
the control of it with its negro population.-" In economic or 
political policy, therefore, whether the Southern manufacturer 
desired the tariffs proposed by Northern Repablicans or not, he 
felt compelled to unite with the white Democratic element in 
the South which stood for tariff for revenue only, or free trade. 
In this attitude he was joined by Northerners who happened to 
take up permanent residence in the Southern States. 

The union of the whites under one political banner was an 
outgrowth of Reconstruction conditions. The Radicals of the 
post-war period had attempted to foist the rule of an undeveloped 
race upon a proud people of almost pure Anglo-Celtic stock. 
These people, unlike the Latins of South and Central America, 
had refused to mix with other blood on terms of equality. Where 
the negro was equal or superior in numbers to the white popula- 
tion, the dominant white class sought to evade the Amendments to 
the Constitution designed by the Reconstruction Radical to keep 
the negro in power. The different States employed different 
methods at different periods to bring this about. By the Southern 
people these measures were justified on the ground of the neces- 
sity for white supremacy in order to preserve the high standards 
of American civilization. The precedents of Haiti and the 
Central American republics were always in the mind of the 
Southern whites, and with this view also the Northerner was 
generally in accord when he went to live in the South, when he 
had business interests in the South, or when he learned of past 
or present conditions there. 

Nevertheless, the political solidarity of the South was a con- 
stant source of irritation to the Republican party, which gen- 
erally controlled the White House and the Senate, but often lost 
control of the House of Representatives to the Democrats. In 
1888, one of the planks in the platform of the Republican party 
declared for special legislation to enforce the Fourteenth and 
Fifteenth Amendments. In 1890, therefore, a so-called "Force 
Bill" passed the House and, sponsored by Senator Lodge, of 

^ See quotation from Lincoln, p. 289, and attitude of California towards 
Asiatics, p. 408. 



INFLUENCE OF THE WEST AND THE SOUTH 407 

Massachusetts, was presented to the Senate. After a long-drawn- 
out and bitter debate, the measure was finally defeated through 
the combined vote of the Democrats and a group of Republicans 
from the Western States. 

To meet the Force Bill threat, Louisiana brought forward a 
method to evade the Cojistitutional Amendment which required 
manhood suffrage without respect to "race, color, or previous 



r 



"1 




Reproduced by permission of The Philadelphia Commercial Museum 

Blast furnace and pig iron store-yard at Birmingham, Alabama. The pig iron 
is ready to go to the steel mill to be rolled into rails and all kinds of structural 
metal. 

condition of servitude." In 1897, the State adopted a "grand- 
father clause" which guaranteed the enfranchisement of all 
whites, who in their own persons or in the persons of their fathers 
or grandfathers, were entitled to vote prior to Januarv^ 1, 1867. 

Other Southern States followed the example of Louisiana, and 
the negro was very generally eliminated from politics. In Louisi- 
ana alone the number of negro voters fell from 127,000 in 1896 
to less than 6000 in 1900. The North acquiesced in this result, 
partly because of growing commercial and social intercourse 



408 THE STORY OF OUR OWN TIMES 

between the sections, and partly because certain States of the 
Pacific Coast developed a sympathetic feeling- for the South on 
account of the origin there of a race problem of their own in the 
beginning and rapid increase of immigration to the Pacific Coast 
of Chinese, Japanese, and Hindus. 

In the earlier period of the settlement of California and the 
Pacific Coast, Chinese immigrants were Avelcomed, and their 
labor played an important part in the construction of roads, 
transcontinental railways, and in the general development of 
the coast country. In the course of time, however, more white 
laborers became available. These latter soon developed so strong 
an opposition to the further immigration of the Chinese that 
in 1880 a commission was sent to China to arrange for some 
definite restrictions upon Chinese immigration. After much dis- 
cussion, China consented to a restriction upon the emigration of 
her laborers, and this international agreement was followed in 
1882 by an Act of Congress excluding Chinese laborers for a 
period of ten years, which was renewed at the time of its expira- 
tion, and extended in scope. 

In 1879, California passed some special laws, together with 
clauses in a new State Constitution, aimed at Chinese immigra- 
tion, suffrage, etc., but these provisions were later set aside by the 
Supreme Court of the United States. Shortly after this, how- 
ever, the Pacific Coast received support from the labor unions in 
the East when the Chinese began to appear in that section. Fed- 
eral laws thereafter became more stringent, and, at the beginning 
of the present century, matters were so arranged that students 
only, together with certain designated classes of Chinese, may 
enter the United States. 

Some years after the climax of these difficulties with Chinese 
immigration had been reached, a more difficult problem rose in 
respect to Japanese immigration. Again, it was a problem which 
chiefly affected the interests of the Pacific Coast. 

Since 1855, when Commodore Perry had opened Japan to 
Western civilization, Americans had taken a keen interest in the 
marvelous development of that country, so that when Japan 
challenged the great Empire of Russia in 1904, the majority of 



INFLUENCE OF THE WEST AND THE SOUTH 409 

Americans sympathized with Japan. -^ It was about this time, 
however, that Japanese immigrants began tO; cross the Pacific 
in steadily increasing" numbers. At first they had been wel- 
comed, but because of their lower standards of living, they began 
to supplant the whites in a number of industries such as truck 
farming and small shopkeeping in particular. They were far 
more aggressive than the Chinese ; they resented affronts, de- 
manded equal rights, and began to accumulate wealth and own 
propert3\ They were, in short, determined to become citizens 
of their adopted country, with all accompanying rights and privi- 
leges, and as they became more numerous it was argued that they 
would not only control much private property but public offices. 
Under the circumstances, violent race prejudices were aroused, 
and in 1906 the School Board of San Francisco planned to set 
aside separate schools for the Oriental races. The Japanese Gov- 
ernment protested vigorously and President Roosevelt, while not 
attempting directly to interfere with a matter involving the 
reserved rights of a State, persuaded the San Francisco school 
authorities to modify their order to avoid wounding the sensi- 
bilities of the Japanese, promising at the same time to secure an 
agreement with Japan relative to the restriction of immigration. 
For a time, the "gentlemen's agreement" of 1907, as it was 
called, allayed the spirit of unrest and served to restrict the 
immigration of Japanese laborers. . 

Previousl}^, Japanese immigration had increased from less 
than 3000 in 1899 to over 30,000 in 1907. By 1909, this immigra- 
tion had receded to about that of 1899. In 1910, however, immi- 
gration again began to rise; in 1912 the number of immigrants 
had doubled and had reached, by an almost steady growth, over 
16,000 during 1919. In short, the Japanese had found ways and 
means to avoid the real intent and purpose of the exclusion 
agreement. A class of small farmers, not technically included 
under the term ''laborer," had been freely granted permission 
to emigrate to America. Like their predecessors, their living 



^It is worth remembering that through the intervention of President 
Roosevelt, peace commissoners from the warring nations met at Ports- 
mouth, New Hampshire, in the summer of 1905. There an agreement was 
reached which became known as the Treaty of Portsmouth. 



410 THE STORY OF OUR OWN TIMES 

standards were low, and they acquired land in the course of a 
comparatively short time, causing an exodus of white settlers 
from large and very rich tracts of farm land.-^ 

Asserting that the}^ were acting in defense of the American 
form of civilization and government, the citizens of California 
advocated and secured State legislation prohibiting aliens in- 
eligible to citizenship, which included all Asiatics, from acquir- 
ing land."*^ This agitation brought on considerable discussion 
between the government at Washington and that at Tokyo. The 
Japanese made vigorous protests, but Americans reminded them 
that their own attitude towards foreign immigration was re- 
strictive, and had at least a strong tendency to be exclusive in 
regard to equal rights in property holding. 

California became still further alarmed over the great in- 
crease in the birth-rate of the Japanese already in this country, 
and the admission of great numbers of Japanese women as ' ' pic- 
ture brides" of the Japanese farmers in America. As the Jap- 
anese were taking advantage of the fact that their children ivere 
American citizens, new laws were passed by California to restrict 
the use being made of this fact to acquire more land and other 
property. The passage of these law^s aroused Japan ; and 
Viscount Kaneko, a prominent member of the Privy Council of 
the Empire, declared, early in 1920, that '/The action of some 
people of California threatens to strain the* relations between 
Japan and the United States to a critical point. Japan has borne 
patiently a long series of attacks on the legal rights of the 60,000 
Japanese in that State, but the limit of endurance has been very 
nearly reached." In reply, the position of California is set forth 
in a statement made by Governor Stepheut^^ who wrote in con- 
nection with a State report on the Japanese problem that : 

''The people of California are determined to repress a devel- 
oping Japanese community 'wathin our midst. They are deter- 

^ It shoukl be added that in makings the " gentlemen's agreement," 
the American Government in 1907 had, temporarily, at least, surrendered 
its sovereign right to determine in each case what persons should be 
admitted or rejected. By tlie terms of the agreement, the decision rested 
vnth Japan. 

^^ Hindus had begim to come in in much increased numbers at this time. 



INFLUENCE OF THE WEST AND THE SOUTH 411 

mined to exhaust every power in their keeping to maintain this 
State for its own people. This determination is based funda- 
mentally upon the ethnological impossibility of assimilating the 
Japanese people, and the consequent alternative of increasing a 
population whose very race isolation must be fraught with the 
gravest consequences. California wants peace. But California 
wants to retain this commonwealth for her own people, where 
they may grow up and develop their own ideals. We are con- 
fronted at this time by the problems that have arisen in the 
Haw^aiian Islands, where the Japanese have now developed to an 
extent which gives them a preponderance, I am informed, in the 
affairs of that territor.v. That mistake of Hawaii must not, and 
California is determined shall not, be repeated here. ' ' 

Review of Immigration from Europe through Atlantic Ports 

In connection \^ath the development of the West, the preced- 
ing paragraphs set forth the problem of the invasion of the Pacific 
Coast by immigration of Asiatics from the Orient. In the East, 
the problem was of a different character. The Atlantic ports 
received their millions where the Pacific Coast received its thou- 
sands ; but the millions that entered the Eastern ports were of the 
white people of Europe and were, for the greater part, assimila'ble. 
which the thousands of the Pacific Coast were not. Briefly, then, 
the South had its negroes to deal with, the West had first the 
Indian and then the Asiatic, and the East (or Northeast) its 
multi-tongued millions from many lands. It is the last-named of 
these problems that is now^ to be reviewed. 

After the period of inmiigration in colonial days, there came 
an era when immigration from any source Avas comparatively 
small. This was the era of adjustment in the new federal republic 
when foreign peoples were frankly doubtful about its future. 
This period may be roughly estimated as extending from the last 
quarter of the eighteenth century to about the middle of the 
nineteenth. At this time, great numbers of Irish abandoned 
their homes in the "old country" in consequence of a great 
famine in their native land. 

The Irish came over in great numbers, and, like the Puritans 
of New England, they brought up large and thriving families. 



412 THE STORY OF OUR OWN TIMES 

For the greater part, these immigrants sought homes and liveli- 
hood in the great centers of population. They soon showed an 
aptitude for American politics and brought with them not a 
little of the noted combativeness of their people, together with 
their Celtic emotionalism, kindliness, and good fellowship.-' 

With this tide of Irish immigration, there came from middle 
Europe great numbers of Germans, together with a small admix- 
ture of Austrians and Hungarians. These people maj^ be said 
to have fled "from the wrath to come," or the modern form of 
military despotism which they saw was settling on their own 
countries. Many of them had engaged in the unsuccessful revo- 
lution of 1849. Failing to secure liberal or democratic govern- 
ment in the Old World, they sought it where it was already 
established — in the New. Unlike the Irish, the Germans traveled 
westward and settled, for the most part, in the States and Terri- 
tories of what was then known as the Great Northwest. 

During the War of Secession, when millions of men were 
called to the colors, Congress, in response to the demand for 
labor, made special efforts to promote European immigration on 
a scale larger than ever before considered. In 1862, the Home- 
stead Act was passed, which made it possible for these new- 
comers to acquire shares of land in the public domain practically 
for the asking, or in pa;}Tnent of nominal fees.-^ Under the opera- 
tions of this law thousands of workmen in the East abandoned the 
factories of that section, and their places were promptly taken 

^^Tlie Irish had been treated with great severity under Cromwell in 
the seventeenth century. Subsequently, also, they had been unsympa- 
thetically and often badly treated under successive British ministries for 
a century and a half, when it was hoped that a series of constructive acts 
by Parliament would help conditions in the present and tend to do away 
with the memory of ancient wrongs. Subsequently to the stupid blunders 
of George III and the British ministry of his day which led to tile revolt 
of the thirteen American colonies, the British developed so liberal an 
attitude towards their other possessions that they became justly famous 
as the most successful colonizers in the world. Their outstanding failure 
lay not in a distant colony, but close at home in Ireland. 

"^ See also the following discussion of the Regulation of B^ailroads 
and Ti'usts. 



INFLUENCE OF THE WEST AND THE SOUTH 413 

by those attracted to America by the agents of immigration, who 
toured Europe in the interests of these immigration plans. 

Moreover, the making of war material and the increase in 
tariff rates having further stimulated manufacturing, the com- 
mercial interests demanded additional Federal action to increase 
the swelling tide of immigration. Hence, in 1864, Congress, in 
the effort to secure more labor for these new developments, passed 
an act making it legal for would-be immigrants to pay for their 
passage to America by pledging their services for a certain 
length of time in mine, factory, railroad, or whatever labor that 
might be agreed upon by the contractors, who, in Europe, secured 
the new immigrants. 

These laws led to the enactment of legislation empowering the 
President to appoint a Commissioner of Immigration whose duty 
it should be to establish facilities for aiding the immigrants and 
to protect them as far as possible from those who would take ad- 
vantage of them under new customs and in a strange land. 

In addition to the Germans, the Homestead law attracted 
large numbers of thrifty people from Northern Europe. Again, 
events in that continent proved a stimuhns to the immigration 
tide ; for, when Prussia seized the province of Schleswig-Holstein 
from Denmark, thousands of Danes joined the influx of Swedes 
and Norw^egians. For the most part, these settled in the North- 
west of that day, where, besides developing the farm lands, they 
helped to build many schools and colleges. In this they were also 
aided by the Federal Government, which had provided that the 
proceeds from the sale of a large proportion of the public lands 
should be set aside to maintain these institutions. 

From 1888 on, the stream of immigration began to change in 
character. Irish, Scandinavians, Germans, and British immi- 
grants continued to come, but in proportionally decreasing num- 
bers to a vast new tide that began to sweep in from Eastern and 
Southern Europe — a tide, all told, Avhich amounted to over a 
million and a quarter souls in 1907. In 1888, Congress had 
prohibited further importation of workers under contract, thus 
repealing the legislation of 1864. Now, however, the great for- 
eign-owned steamship lines began to fill their steerage space ^vith 
thousands collected by their o\ati agents, who were interested 



414 THE STORY OF OUR OWN TIMES 

merely in securing the price of transportation. Millions of the 
new immigrants thus encouraged came from Italy, Austria- 
Hungary, Bohemia, Russia, and Poland; Tens of thousands of 
those from Russia, Rumania, and lower Central Europe were 
Jews, who were either harried out of the first-named countries 
or who were dwelling under disadvantageous conditions in other 
lands. The Jews gravitated to the cities and towns throughout the 
States, while Poles, Russians, Czechs, Slovaks, and the repre- 
sentatives of the numerous other Central and East European 
peoples sought work in constructing railways, in the coal mines, 
in the great slaughter-houses of the Middle West, and in fac- 
tories throughout the Union. 

American labor unions became alarmed at the inflow of 
' ' cheap labor, ' ' while protests arose in other quarters against this 
almost unlimited immigration on the ground that it was coming 
in too rapidly to be properly assimilated, and if not so assimilated, 
many of these newcomers, whether with or without the rights 
and privileges of citizens, would continue to feel a sense of supe- 
rior allegiance to the countries from which they came. 

When the World War broke out in Europe, and especially 
after the United States entered the struggle, concerted efforts 
were made to establish closer relations and a better understanding 
between the peoples of other lands and the native American stock. 
Individuals, both native and foreign born, contributed liberally 
towards this praiseworthy end, and much good was accomplished 
whenever proper play was given for an ''exchange of view- 
point" by both interested parties. For the most part, each then 
came to appreciate the good points of the other, and by sympa- 
thetic contact learned to remove or lessen differences, together 
with real or possible points of friction. 

Regulation of Railroad Corporations; and Anti-Trust 

Legislation 

In the discussion of the immediately preceding topics, refer- 
ences have been made to the part played by railroads in the 
development of the West. Especiallj^ in connection with the 
paragraphs on the passage of the Homestead Act and the reserva- 
tion of public lands for educational purposes, mention should also 



REGULATION OF RAILROAD CORPORATIONS 415 

be made of the granting of UrDtiensely larger tracts of land to 
great transcontinental railroad corporations. For example, Con- 
g-ress, in 1862, awarded the Union Pacific a gift of twenty square 
miles of land along each niile of road, tOig-ether with a loan of 
$50,000,000. The loan was so "juggled" by certain groups of 
men that it was never repaid. These leading stockholders created 
a semi-secret circle wdthin the corporation which became known 
to the public as the Credit Mobilier. They then proceeded to use 
and appropriate the funds of the corporation in such manner as 
they saw fit. Fearing public investigation, this group presented 
shares of its stock to Congressmen. However, investigation and 

1 




A modern express train in service between New York and Chicago. Compare 
this with the Baltimore and Ohio train on p. 26(3. The difference in the trains 
represents a difference of less than a hundred years. 

disclosures followed, and these scandalous transactions were for 
a time discontinued. Later, however, railroad corporations be- 
came involved in or connected with the operations of huge com- 
mercial combinations which came to be known as ' ' trusts. ' ' These 
corporations soon began to wield enormous power, sometimes in 
the open, but often in secret. At times the men ' * on the inside ' ' 
would so manipulate great business concerns that their stock 
would go down and the ordinary stockholders would be forced or 
persuaded to sell out. The "inside interests" would then buy 
up the stock "for a song," rejuvenate the business, aiid reap 
fortunes in the transaction. 

As these matters became better understood, public indigna- 
tion, at first despised, grew into a force which had to be reckoned 
with ; while the defiant attitude of the great captains of finance 



416 THE STORY OF OUR OWN TIMES 

led to the proposal of every eonceivable remedy for the then 
existing ills, from the moderately constructive regulation of 
trusts and combinations b}^ due process of law, to wild schemes of 
destruction or confiscation by immediate action, which would 
have been subversive of law and order and would, in the end, have 
defeated the very purpose that was sought — the public welfare. 
In any event, public demand for reform became so great that 
both the leading parties united in 1890 to pass the legislation 
known as the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. This Act was not, 
however, as effective as its supporters hoped it would be. Under 
Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson further restrictions were imposed, 
and it has been said that Roosevelt's powerful attack on railroad 
corporations led, ultimately, to the serious curtailment of their 
ability to serve the public or -to expand in accordance with the 
needs of the country. It is certain, however, that each age or 
epoch has its ills and evils, and sometimes the same ills or evils 
in a different form. It is the hope of representative democracy 
that as the people take a more intelligent interest in government, 
together with an enlarged rather than a selfish attitude towards 
political issues, one evil after another will be minimized or its 
power for harm gTcatly lessened. It is not denied that many evil 
practices, accepted as a matter of course in the last half of the 
nineteenth century, have been made impossible in the- first quarter 
of the twentieth. 

Prohibition and the Eighteenth Amendment 

For a while, the colony of Georgia was the first prohibition 
community. This was under Oglethorpe. The government of 
North Carolina was the first to restrict its use ; but throughout 
the country, from the close of the War of 1812 to the middle of 
the eighteenth centur}^, there appeared to be an increasing ten- 
dency towards the drinking of strongly intoxicating liquor. 
When, in the '50 's, inebriety became a scandal in public life, an 
agitation on behalf of temperance arose, which became known 
as the Washingtonian movement. In 1869, a Prohibition Party 
was organized. In 1872, it nominated candidates for President 
and Vice-President, which the party continued to do in national 
campaigns thereafter. Ultimately, the most directly effective 



PROHIBITION 417 

work was, however, done through other agencies, such as the 
Women's Chriatian Temperance Union, and a well-organized and 
well-endowed organization known as the Anti-Saloon League. 

At first these organizations worked through the medium of 
State Legislatures; but, before they had organized, Maine, by 
legal process, ''went dry," largely because of the eloquence of 
Neal Dow, one of the earliest champions of total abstinence. 
Kansas followed, and the movement made rapid progress in the 
Southern and Western States during the first decade of the 
twentieth century. 

After a number of the States had taken action, the advocates 
of prohibition began to urge national legislation on the subject. 
In 1913, Congress enacted the Webb bill, which made it illegal 
to ship intoxicating liquor into a ''dry"- State from a "wet" 
one. By the end of 1917, twenty-six States had become "dry." 
Congress declared prohibition effective in the District of Colum- 
bia, and voted to submit an Amendment to the United States 
Constitution to the States. In a comparatively short period, the 
required three-fourths of the States had ratified the Amend- 
ment (the Eighteenth), and the same became effective Janu- 
ary 16, 1919.-^ 

Woman Suffrage 

It seems pretty well established that the first woman in 
America to demand a vote was Mistress Margaret Brent in the 
colony of Maryland. In 1647, Mistress Brent was "declared by 

'■^ " It is certain that difficulty will bo, met with in enforcing prohi- 
bition in some localities; it is equally certain that the abolition of the 
liquor traffic will result in a tremendous saving to the American people. 
It is estimated that the total consumption of liquor in a single year 
exceeded 2,000,000,000 gallons, that the average consumption for each man, 
woman and child amounted to over 22 gallons, and that the total cost to 
the consumer amounted to from $1,500,000,000 to $2,000,000,000. The 
greater part of this money was spent by working men, who could ill afford 
such expenditure. Under prohibition much of this money will still go for 
inutilities of one sort or another, but a vast deal of it will go for the 
purchase of more food, clothing, sichool books, and shoes for wives 
and children. 

" Prohibition means the loss of large revenues to national and local 
governments ; it also means fewer paupers, fewer criminals, fewer cases 

27 



418 THE STORY OF OUR OWN TIMES 

the Court and Council to be attorney in fact of Lord Baltimore, 
in place of her kinsman, Leonard Calvert, deceased." As such 
attorney, she forthwith demanded a. vote and voice in the Mary- 
land General Assembly of 1648. 

Mistress Brent did not get the vote she asked for ; but a centur}^ 
and a quarter later it is on record that women voted in New 
Jersey from about 1776 to 1807, when the State legislature re- 
stricted the franchise to ' ' free white males. ' ' "*^ 

In 1869 and 1870, respectively, the Territories of Wyoming 
and Utah declared for woman suffrage. In 1893, Colorado became 
the first State to grant the suffrage to women by special enact- 
ment. Other States, especially those in the West, followed. In 
1912 the Progressive Party declared for enfranchising women, 
and in 1916 a woman suffrage plank in favor of State enfran- 
chisenient was incorporated in the platforms of the older 
political parties. 

When the powerful and populous State of New York joined 
the suffrage ranks in 1917, a great impetus was given the move- 
ment to secure suft'rage in all the States by an Amendment to the 
Federal Constitution. It was on this issue that, early in 1918, 
President W^ilson met with his first serious rebuff in Congress 
when he made a personal appeal to the Senate for woman suffrage, 
the proposed measure lacking one vote of the necessary two- 

of insanity. Wherever prohibitory laws are enforced comparatively little 
use is found for jails and workhouses. A jurist who was for many years 
a police and criminal judge in one of the large cities of the country 
estimates that fully 70 per cent of all cases that came before him prior 
to the enactment of j^rohibition was directly due to strong drink, while a 
large part of the remainder were indirectly due to that cause."— Haworth : 
The United States in Our Own Times. 

^•^ The framers of the first State Constitution of New Jersey in 1776, 
liad no intention, apparently, of legalizing woman suffrage. That docu- 
ment had been drawn up hastily in a period of ten days without careful 
revision. It was soon seen, however, that the wording therein which 
granted the privilege of the suffrage to " all inhahitayits of the State who 
were oi^er tiventy-one years of age and had certain property qualifications 
could very readily be interpreted, as including women. Consequently, the 
law of 1807 stated that one of its purposes was to put an end to the use 
of the suffrage by women, aliens, and negroes. 



TRADE AND TRANSPORTATION 419 

thirds. -^^ The Amendment, however, was finally submitted to the 
States by a vote of both Houses of Congress in the extra session 
held in 1919 ; and b}^ April, 1920, it lacked the ratification of a 
single State to make it valid or effective in all. Finalh^ after 
bitter intra-State discussion, and by means of a special session 
of the Legislature, Tennessee completed the list of thirty-six 
States, and the Nineteenth Amendment was proclaimed 
x\ugust 19, 1920. 

TRADE AND TRANSPORTATION 

In the preceding pages references have been made to 
trade and transportation in each distinctive era. At first 
this development was slow; but, from 1870, the develop- 
ment of trade and transportation facilities went forward 
as it had never done before. Even the great sec- 
tional conflict had not hindered the growth in popu- 
lation, and the census of 1870 showed an increase 
in almost ever^^ State. This population had to be served. 
In the three years from 1869 to 1872, Congress gTanted 
one hundred million acres of public lands to railroad 
enterprises, and the mileage of railroads actually con- 
structed nearly equalled the circumference of the earth. 

^^ Although the Democratic party (or the Southern and Western wings 
of it) was largely instrumental in securing the adoption of the Eighteenth 
•Amendment, and although President XVilson especially and the Western 
wing worked for the Nineteenth, there was a large conservative element 
among the Democrats which felt that the party was going contrary to 
fundamental principles for which Democrats had contended for over a 
century — the right of the individual State to manage its own affairs with 
the least possible interposition of the Federal Government. They believed 
that each State should decide for itself whether it should have prohibition 
or universal suffrage. A considerable number of Eastern Republicans 
agreed with this viewpoint, and the opposition of Governor Holcomb to 
calling a special session of the Connecticut legislature to ratify the 
suffrage amendment was based on reasoning very much like the State 
Rights viewpoint laid down by New England in the first quarter of the 
nineteenth century and by the Southern States some years later. 



420 THE STORY OF OUR OWN TIMES 

After reconstmction, there came a period of great 
railroad consolidation which helped to make transpor- 
tation easier, particularly travel. Previously, a traveler 

r • 




THE UNION PACIFIC CROSSING SALT LAKE; A CUT-OFF TWENTY-SEVEN MILES IN LENGTH 

from New York to St. Louis or other distant points was 
compelled to make repeated changes from one discon- 
nected road to another. Very often the terminals of these 
roads were miles apart, and hours werei wasted in waiting 



TRADE AND TRANSPORTATION 421 

for coimectioiis. In 1868, Cornelius ^^anderbilt, Presi- 
dent of the Hudson River Railroad, united that road with 
the New York Central, thereby forming a continuous con- 
nection from the City of New York to Buffalo. Five years 
later, by buying another road, he was able to offer a con- 
tinuous passage to Chicago. The example of this road 
was followed by the Baltimore and Ohio and the Penn- 
sylvania in the effort to reach the Middle West. 

These consolidations were a great convenience in 
trade and travel, but with them came evil practices, which 
included the financial w^recking of some roads, the 
"watering of stock," and the "squeezing out" of minor 
stockholders. It was evident to the people that great 
fortunes were being made, and that higher rates were 
charged than were necessary under these monopolies. 
In order to correct this, the people of the West got to- 
gether under the name of "Patrons of Husbandry" or 
"Grrangefs," following which "Granger Laws" were 
passed creating railroad commissions with supervisory 
powers. These, in some cases, established maximum 
rates and forbade the evil of discrimination be- 
tween shippers. 

Subsequently there followed a period of depression 
when it was made clear that many roads or branches had 
been built too far in advance of local needs. Conse- 
quently, from 1876 to 1894, nearly 600 minor roads were 
sold under foreclosure. As it seemed that States could 
not properly control the situation. Congress, in 1887, 
passed the Inter-State Conmierce Law, which helped in 
some respects, but disappointed expectations in others. 

Like. the West, the South was undergoing rapid eco- 
nomic development. That section, particularly Georgia 



422 THE STORY OF OUR OWN TIMES 

and Tennessee, was developing marble quarries, phos- 
phate beds for fertilizer, and coal and iron mines, while the 
pine forests of the Carolinas continued to produce products 
peculiar to them, such as tar and turpentine. At the end 
of the Reconstruction era Alabama was tenth among the 
States producing pig iron, but as early as 1890 it stood 
third. This activity was centered in Birmingham, while 
Nashville, Memphis, Chattanooga, Atlanta, New Orleans, 
and not a few of the cities of Virginia and the Carolinas 
developed successful and prosperous manufacturing in- 
dustries. Prior to the War of Secession, a young army 
engineer, Robert E. Lee, had assisted in the work of 
making the Mississippi River safe for trade and travel. 
In 1879, the Federal Government established a River 
Commission and began to prepare a system of levees. In 
the beginning of the twentieth" century, the Gulf ports of 
the South, such as Mobile, New Orleans, and Galveston, 
were ready to profit by the opening of the Panama Canal. 
In the foregoing text the Adamson Law has been dis- 
cussed. In 1917- '18 the Federal Government took over 
the railroads, but returned them to private control some 
months after the close of the World War. 

Review of Foreign Affairs From the Close of the War op 
Secession to the Beginning of the World War — 

1865-1914 

The period from 1865 to the beginning of the World War in 
1914, covers almost exactly a half -century of political progress 
within the United States and not a little tendency to expansion 
without, in addition to an increasing participation in world 
affairs. In outside affairs, events, at times, seemed to force the 
United States into action which neither the Federal Government 
nor the people had anticipated. 



ACQUISITION OF ALASKA 



423 



Foremost in the '60 's came the opportunity to secure the vast 
territory of A laska. Russia made the offer to sell, and America 
seized the opportunity. Furthermore, the offer happened to 
come when William H. Seward, an ardent believer in American 
(United States) expansion, was Secretary of State. 
Like Jefferson in regard to the acquisition of the 
Louisiana territory and the claims to the far North- 
west; like Monroe in regrard to the acquisition of 
nearby Florida; and like Polk and Tyler in re^^ard to Texas, 
Secretary Seward and President Johnson caught the spirit of 



Dealings 
with Russia; 
Acquisition 
of Alaska 




Photo bv Chamberlain. 



ON THE COAST OF SOUTHEKN ALASKA 



continental expansion and welcomed an opportunity to purchase 
for less than seven and a quarter million dollars, a territory of 
nearly 600,000 square miles. The Senate, which cannot fairly 
be accused of haste in ratifying treaties, made this one an ex- 
ception and promptly approved of the purchase with but two dis- 
sentino- votes.^- 



^^On the other hand, the House was not enthusiastic over voting the 
necessary funds for what many members thouglit was a mass of useless ice 
and snow, or at best inaccessible and uninhabitable earth. Tt was not until 
the following year, therefore, that the purchase price was forthcoming from 



424 THE STORY OF OUR OWN TIMES 

During the administration of President Johnson, efforts were 
made to secure the Danish Islands of St. Thomas, St. John, and 
St. Croix, for naval coaling stations in the West Indies. Secre- 

, . tary Seward was negotiating also for a coal- 

Early Attempts to.*^ ^ o^^-p^- t 

Secure Naval Bases lug base at hamaua Bay, banto Domnigo. In 

in the West Indies ,, -,. t ' • j^ •• t% • -i a r^ 

the succeeding administration. President Grant 
made strenuous efforts to annex Santo Domingo itself through 
a treaty negotiated with the hard-pressed President of that 
republic. The Senate, however, refused to ratify the treaty. 
In 1902, President Roosevelt made another unsuccessful attempt 
to purchase the Danish Islands. 

These efforts at expansion in the West Indies are worthy of 

mention because the purchase of the Danish West Indies was 

actually effected in 1917, under the administration of President 

, Wilson. The price paid was $25,000,000: and the 

Purchase of • ? ^ ^ 

the Danish negotiations, begun in 1916, were promoted as well 
" ^^ as hastened by war conditions in Europe at the time ; 
for whatever may be the commercial value of these islands, their 
importance from the naval or military standpoint is very great 
in serving to guard the approaches to the Panama Canal. In 
the possession of Denmark, the interests of the United States 
would have been considered comparatively safe. On the other 
hand, it was pointed out that if Denmark was forced to sell or 
cede the islands to a great European Power, the interests' of the 
United States might be seriously endangered. "^^ 

In the meantime, Santo Domingo was, in 1904, again brought 
sharply to the attention of the United States Government by 
reason of the fact that the republic was heavily in debt to several 

that body. It may be added, however, that Secretary Seward, in his 
enthusiasm for expansion, created some alarm in Central and South America 
by his prediction that the City of Mexico would be " the ultimate central 
seat of power of the North American people." In 1846 he had declared that 
the population of the Republic was destined " to roll its resistless waves to- 
the ice barriers of the North, and to encounter Oriental civilization on the 
shores of the Pacific," — a prophecy which, in part, at least, was fulfilled 
while he was Secretary of State. 

^^ The trade of these islands with the world was valued at $4,196,037 in 
1919, while in 1918, it was $3,141,775, a gain in a year of $1,054,262, or 
33 per cent." Neiv York World, October 10, 1920. 



SANTO DOMINGO AND MONROE DOC TRINE 425 

of the great Powers of Europe, among which were Germany, 
France, Italy, and Belgium. It had long been ^^^^^ Domingo 
known that Germany had regarded the Monroe and a New 

._^ . . 1 • • 1 j^ 1 • • Interpretation 

Doctrine with impatience as a bar to colonization of the Monroe 
and acquisition in Central and South America."^^ 
She now showed a determination to "go in" and collect from 
Santo Domingo her own debts. As it happened, however, the 
other three nations notified the United States that thev would 




Reproduced by permission of Philadelphia Museums. 

A TOBACCO FIELD COVEKED WITH CL.OTH FOR PROTECTION, PORTO RICO 

collect the debts due them and that they proposed to occupy 
several of the ports in order to collect the customs. As the Santo 
Domingo debt was a very large one, amounting to over thirty 
million dollars, and as the customs receipts over and above the 
expenses of the Government for 1904, would amount to only 
half a million dollars, it was apparent that occupation of Santo 
Domingo by European powers might be prolonged indefinitely. 
President Roosevelt faced a dangerous situation, but he brought 
about an agreement with the Dominican government under the 



"•^The famous German statesman, Prince Bismarck, had tersely de- 
scribed the Monroe doctrine as " an internati(mal impertinence." 



426 THE STORY OF OUR OWN TIMES 

terms of which the United States was to take eharg-e of the 
Santo Domingo custom-houses and settle its foreign debts. The 
United States Senate blocked this agreement or treaty as ne- 
gotiated by the President ; but Roosevelt devised extraordinary 
means to continue his plan without the sanction of the Senate, 
which body, two years later, finally felt obliged to agree to it in 
somewhat modified form. 

This incident and its final settlement is exceptionally impor- 
tant, in that it established a kind of corollary or extension of 
the Monroe Doctrine ; for, since the Government of the United 
States was unmlling to permit any outside Power to interfere 
with the affairs of the peoples of the Western Hemisphere, under 
President Roosevelt's interpretation, it undertook to be respon- 
sible to the Powers of the world, in general, for the behavior of 
these peoples. This new interpretation was sharply criticised 
by many of President Roosevelt's fellow-countrymen, who felt 
that he wasi establisliing- a dangerous precedent which might 
involve the United States in frequently recurrent difficulties, 
besides making matters easy for other nations w^ho would, under 
this plan, feel free to extend credit with the knowledge that the 
United States would make the credit good. 

Nevertheless, the plan worked well in the case of the Domin- 
ican republic, and although United States Marines w^ere at times 
Dissensions in required to suppress petty ''revolutions", Santo 
Central America Domingo saw comparative peace and prosperity 
under the new order. Therefore, w^hen similar difficulties in 
regard to debts, or different difficulties in regard to dissensions 
between neighboring republics arose in Central America, two of 
these countries, Honduras and Nicaragua, ultimately found them- 
selves in some measure under the direction of the United States. 
These disturbances occupied the attention of President Taft's 
administration (1908- '13), but the United States Senate refused 
to ratif}' agreemeuts or treaties. Consequently, the difficulties 
continued to the administration of President Wilson; but the 
Senate, in 1916, finally ratified a treaty with Nicaragua under 
the terms of which Nicaragua granted to the United States the 
exclusive right to construct an interoceanic Avaterway by the 
San Juan River and Lake Nicaragua, leasing to the United 



RELATIONS WITH MEXICO 427 

States for ninety-nine years a naval base on the Gulf of Fonseca, 
together with some, neighboring small islands. In return, the 
United States agreed to paj- Nicaragua $3,000,000, to be used, 
for the most part, in paying the public debt of that republic. 

American intervention and supervision was next called for 
in Haiti, and, under President Wilson, a treaty was ratified 
with that West Indian republic, in which the pro- 
visions applied to its neighbor on the same island intervention 
were extended to include a native constabulary or *" ^^*** 
police force under American officers.^^ 

The Monroe Doctrine, the movements of the United States 
in the Caribbean Sea, the exclusion or restriction of Asiatic 
immigration, the construction of the Panama Canal, Relations 
friendship or misunderstanding between the United ^^^^ Mexico 
States and South America, all are bound up, in some manner or 
other, with the relations between the United States and our 
nearest Latin-American neighbor, Mexico. 

Prior to quite recent times, many American writers have 
left a false impression as to the alleged aggressiveness of the 
State of Texas and the United States government in forcing 
war upon Mexico in 1848. This was due to the ready acces- 
sibility of a great deal of material reflecting political or semi- 
political opposition to the war, and the fact that it has remained 
for recent investigators to bring forward the long-hidden data 
on the events which led up to the war.^*^ In an}^ event, it may 
be said that a victorious United States treated a badly beaten 
and helpless foe with not a little generosity — a treatment that 
excited some derision on the part of European statesmen, who 
would have exacted the ' ' blood and property penalty ' ' of victor}^ 

It has been seen, further (p. 358), that, upon the close of the 
War of Secession, the Republic of Mexico was saved from seizure 
by Napoleon III through American insistence on the Monroe 
Doctrine. Both before and after that time, the government of 

"^Reference has already been made (page 381) to the acquisition of 
Porto Rico, and the establishment of a protectorate over Cuba, thus com- 
pleting the story of the operations by the United States Government in the 
Caribbean during the twenty-year period between 1898 and 1918. 

^^ See also page 276. 



428 THE STORY OF OUR OWN TIMES 

the United States has been patient with Mexico during' its numer- 
ous revolntions or local insurrections in which, not infrequently, 
lives and property of American citizens were lost.*^' Under 
Porfirio Diaz, who had fought against the United States in 1848, 
and who then had been rescued, in effect at least, from the 
French invaders under Maximilian in the '60 's, Mexico was kept 
in order by means of a practical dictatorship. Consequently, 
foreign commercial interests began to enter Mexico and develop 
its natural resources; and as long as certain Mexican officials 
were able to secure good returns, outside capitalists were granted 
wide concessions and a free hand to exploit them. Under the 
Diaz regime there were many and serious abuses of power. Pro- 
tests availed nothing, and one attempted revolution after another 
failed to mak-e headwa,y; but in 1911 certain revolutionists, wag- 
ing a conflict on ' ' reform issues and constitutional government ' ', 
were successful. Francisco Madero became President, but 
scarcely had he taken his seat before he was seized and im- 
prisoned b3" General Yictoriano Huerta. Shortly tlliereafter 
Madero was brutally murdered. ■ Huerta was declared President 
and applied to the United States for recognition. This was 
refused by President Taft, who left the matter to his successor. 
Wilson also refused to recognize Huerta, and when the former 
followers or associates of Madero rose in revolt, the President 
determined to follow a policy of "watchful waiting." 

In the meantime, the majority of Americans having property 
interests in Mexico urged recognition of Huerta as the man most 
likely to keep order in that country. President Wilson refused 
for two principal reasons: first, he maintained that Huerta had 
seized the government by violent means ; and, second, that as the 
majority of the Mexican people had been held in subjection 
under the rule of a few for hundreds of years, opposition to 
Huerta 's usurpation of power w^ould best help develop this 
majority, estimated by the President as ''eighty per cent of the 
population." In April, 1914, however, some United States sail- 
ors were arrested by Mexican officials in Tampico. They were 

" " The well-nigh interminable strife of parties gave rise between the 
years 1821 and 1857 to thirty-six different governments." — Latane, The 
United States and Latin America. 



RELATIONS WITH MEXICO 



429 



soon released; but a salute to the American flag was demanded 
by Rear-Admiral Mayo. This was refused. Marines were landed 
at Vera Criiz and a conflict ensued in which nineteen of the 
marines were killed. The United States troops were victorious 
'and held possession of the city for a period of six months. 

All through this period when American interests in Mexico 



were sufferino-. President Wilson was 



making 



extraordinary 




ON THE BORDER OF LAKE CHALCO 



efforts to avoid armed intervention. He endea.vored to assure 
the Mexican people of the good intentions of the United States 
towards all the southern republics by calling together repre- 
sentatives from Argentina, Brazil, and Chile to deliberate ^^ath 
commissioners from the United States on Mexican affairs. Dis- 
order, however, continued in Mexico. Property and even the 
lives of American citizens and of other foreigners were sacrificed 
in. the conflict between the followers of Huerta, on the one hand, 
and the "Constitutionalists", on the other. 



430 THE STORY OF OUR OWN TIMES 

Huerta was finally overthrown by the latter party under the 
leadership of Carranza, Villa, and others. These leaders, in 
turn, disagreed, and civil war broke out afresh. In the latter 
part of 1915, Carranza gained the upper hand and received 
recognition from the United States. Villa, however, continued 
in insurrection. In 1916 he crossed the border at Columbus, 
New Mexico, and attacked and killed United States citizens and 
soldiers. By arrangement with Carranza and the de facto Mexi- 
can Government, United States forces took up the pursuit of Villa 
and his band into Mexican territory. This arrangement with the 
Mexican Government proved unsatisfactory, and clashes with 
Carranza troops were avoided only by the exercise of the greatest 
tact and patience on the part of the American forces. After some 
weeks of occupation of Mexican soil. Villa and his band v/ere 
driven into the hills, and the American troops were withdrawn. 
Later, it appeared that German agents had been busy in an 
endeavor to embroil the United States with Mexico and to pro- 
mote throughout Central and South America further distrust of 
the designs of the United States Government. In 1920, Carranza 
was himself overthrown and was succeeded by Obregon.^^ 

lieference has been made to the patience which tho Govern- 
ment of the United States has always exercised in regard to its 
nearest Latin-American neighbor. This patience reached its 
climax under Wilson, whose critics made out a strong case for 
the justice and propriety of American interpcsition to restore 
order and government, so that the Mexicans themselves might 
enjoy some of the fruits of modern progress and methods. Presi 
dent Wilson was, however, not to be shaken from his main pur- 



^ Early in 1917, the United States Government published the contents^ 
of an official note from Berlin to the German minister in Mexico. In this 
note the Imperial German Government proposed, if the United States should 
declare war against Germany, that an alliance be made between Germany 
and Mexico. Germany was to furnish the funds with the aid of which 
Mexico was to attempt to seize Texas and much of the territory she had 
ceded to the United States in 1846. It was also suggested that Japan might 
be asked to help, which country was interested in the emigration of its 
citizens to the Americas. This note was published in the United States on 
February 28th. It became known as the " Zimmermann note," after the 
name of the German minister for foreign affairs. 



^'COROLLARY" TO THE MONROE DOCTRINE 431 

poses, which were to maintain peace and to secure or restore 
Latin-American faith in the political idealism of what the South 
Americans sometimes called ''The Colossus of the North." 

The faith or confidence of the South American peoples in 
the purposes of the United States had been severely shaken by 
the support of the secession of Panama (p. 386) and Negotiations 
the immediate recognition of that republic, by which ^^*^ Colombia 
the United States secured control of the Canal Zone. Whether 
justified or not, and certainly the government of the United 
States had every provocation in the matter of delay and equivo- 
cation on the part of the Colombian Senate (see Roosevelt's 
expression, p. 387), the protest made by the representatives of 
Colombia was the version which, in South and Central America, 
reached farthest. It created an unjustified, but almost continen- 
tal distrust of the ultimate designs of the United States ; so that 
one purpose behind President Wilson's exceeding patience with 
the obstinate and ill-advised Carranza was his determination to 
remove this feeling of distrust or dislike. 

Reference has already been made to the striking interpre- 
tation of the Monroe Doctrine (p. 425), in which President 
Roosevelt assumed for the United States responsibility for the 
behavior of Latin-American republics. ^^'-^ Another p^gg^^j ^^ ^^j ^^,^ 
"corollarv" to this famous Doctrine may be "Coroiiary" to the 

., T T-. • 1 -tTT-1 1 1 Monroe Doctrine 

attributed to President Wilson, who, at the 
beginning of his first term, declared that the United States did 
not regard with favor certain commercial relations between the 
wealthy corporations under the government of European Powers 
on the one side and undeveloped Latin-American nations on 
the other. Evidence was at hand to show that these commercial 
relations could easily constitute a ''peaceful" invasion of the 
Latin-American Republics at once more subtle than war, but 



39 a (jhronic wrongdoing, or an impotence which results in a general 
loosening of the ties of civilized society, may in America, as elsewhere, 
ultimately require intervention by some civilized nation, and in the Wes- 
tern Hemisphere, the adlierence of the United States to the Monroe doc- 
trine may force the United States, however reluctantly, in flagrant cases 
.of such wrongdoing or impotence, to the exercise of an international 
police power." — Roosevelt; Message to Congress, December 6, 1904. 



432 THE STORY OF OUR OWN TIMES 

which, in the end, could be made as effective. The President 
referred to "peaceful penetration," as the Germans called it, 
by which great corporations, representatives of the great busi- 
ness interests of a strong and wealthy Power, sometimes secured 
business privileges in a weaker country and thereby gradually 
came to control its political and economic policies. Perhaps, in 
calling the attention of the world, including South America, to 
this danger of ' ' peaceful penetration, ' ' President Wilson sought 
not onl}^ to extend the application of the protective ideals of 
the Monroe Doctrine, but also to offset one of the dangers con- 
nected with the assumption of responsibility contained in the 
Roosevelt corollary.^^ 

In American history we have the X, Y, Z correspondence 
connected with French diplomacy of 1797-98. Contrasting the 
ends of the alphabet, we have the A. B. C. conferences in regard 
to Latin-American relations. This represents a. b. c. conferences 
the effort above mentioned to call together the and conciliation 

1 T f> A . of ColomDia 

leading South American republics oi Argentina, 
Brazil, and Chile to effect harmony and understanding between 
the United States and not only Mexico but all of Latin-America. 
Efforts had been made under Roosevelt to mollify the resent- 
ment of Colombia by framing three treaties that depended on 
each other. These proposed treaties were : ( 1 ) between the 
United States and Panama; (2) the United States and Colombia; 
and (3) Panama and Colombia. The envoy from Colombia 
approved of the treaties, and the Colombian administration urged 
their acceptance, but such was the popular indignation in Colom- 
bia that the administration was overthrown and the envoy driven 

*** " You hear." said President Wilson in his Mobile speech, " of con- 
cessions to foreign capitalists in Latin America. You do hot hear of 
concessions to foreign capitalists in the United States. They are not 
granted concessions. They are invlied to make investments. The work 
is ours, though they are welcome to invest in it. We do not ask them to 
supply the capital and do the work. It is an invitation, not a privilege, 
and the states that are obliged because their territory does not lie 
within the main field of modern enterprise and action, to grant con- 
cessions are in this condition, that foreign interests are apt to dominate 
their domestic affairs — a condition of affairs always dangerous and apt 
to become intolerable." 



THE SAMOAN ISLANDS 433 

from the country. All these treaties, therefore, failed. Negotia- 
tions begun under Taft likewise ended in failure. In his turn. 
President Wilson made an even more determined stand; but' his 
repeated proposals to negotiate a treaty with Colombia on the 
basis of ''sincere regret" over the interruption of ''the rela- 
tions of cordial friendship" between the two countries, together 
with the payment of $25,000,000 to Colombia, were defeated in 
the United States Senate. 

The advance of the United States in the Caribbean grew out 
of causes which may be laid for the most part at the door of the 
Monroe Doctrine. The advance of the United . . ,„ . 
States in the Pacific arose out of quite different in the Pacific 
causes, conditions, or unexpected developments. The war with 
Spain in 1898, led directly to the acquisition, whether temporary 
or not, of the Philippine Islands. About that time, the American 
Department of State was compelled to think of possessions and 
policies in the Atlantic and Pacific in terms of world politics; 
for, subsequently to the war with Spain the United States took 
a new position as a World Power. 

The Spanish war brought home to the people of the United 
States that the nation had to guard two coasts that faced on two 
great oceans. Previously, minor incidents had ^. ^ 

, , . . . The Samoan 

brought possible complications with the Orient to islands 
the attention of comparatively few. Some twenty years before 
Dewey entered Manila Bay, the United States, by negotiation, 
had acquired a coaling station on one of the Samoan islands. 
Germany and England also had interests in the Samoan islands. 
In 1886, the German consul raised the Imperial German flag 
over Apia, the Samoan capital, proclaiming German rulership 
over at least the central portion of the islands. The American 
consul met this move by proclaiming an American protectorate 
over the entire archipelago. The acts of both consuls were dis- 
avowed by their respective* governments, but the tension con- 
tinued until Germany became so aggressive in endeavoring to 
secure control of the islands that President Cleveland sent war- 
ships equal in number to the German vessels there. In the mean- 
time, at the height of the German effort, Commander Richard 
28 



434 



THE STORY OF OUR OWN TIMES 



Leary had mn his ship, the Adams, in between the German Adler 
and a native village the Germans were about to bombard.^^ 
Possibly a military clash might have ensued at that time, but it 
so happened that a tropical hurricane sank or wrecked both 

American and German squad- 
rons in the harbor, the 
British cruiser Calliope alone 
escaping by steaming out to 
sea. In 1889, a conference 
was held at Berlin ; Germany 
receded from her early 
claims; and a combined pro- 
tectorate was arranged be- 
tween the United States, 
Great Britain, and Germany. 
Ten years later, Great 
Britain withdrew, and the 
United States acquired 
Tutuila with its fine harbor 
of Pago-Pago, together with 
a few smaller islands. Ger- 
many was awarded the rest.*^ 
In 1893, there had been an 
effort promoted by American 
residents to annex the 
Hawaiian Islands to the United States. The American flag was 
actually set up there, and a treaty of annexation arranged for by 
Annexation President Harrison. President Cleveland, however, 
of Hawaii ordered the flag down and withdrew the proposed 
treaty, and, during the following year, the President officially 
recognized the Republic of Haw^aii. Annexation sentiment in the 
Hawaiian Islands persisted, however; and when the war with 
Spain broke out, Honolulu, the Hawaiian capital, became, in 
effect, an American naval base. Thereafter, annexation was made 

*^ Compare action of Captain Ingraham, page 283. See also Dewey at 
Manila, page 380. 

^ The German islands in this group were, by the Treaty of Versailles 
(1919), awarded to New Zealand. 




RAINBOW FALLS NEAR HILO, HAWAII 



ORIGIN OF THE WAR 435 

easy. Hawaii was formally annexed in 1898, and became a Ter- 
ritory in 1900. 

PART III. THE WORLD ^VAR, AND AFTER 

In August, 1914, almost the whole of Europe became involved 
in what was to prove the greatest war in the history of the world. 
This conflict began with the declaration of war on the part of 
Austria-Hungary against Serbia on July 28. This was almost 
immediately followed b}^ a declaration of war by Germany 
against Russia in the east on August 1, and the invasion by 
German troops of Luxembut-g and Belgium in the west. In the 
United States, the shock of the conflict was immediately felt in 
the form of business uncertainty and depression, which might 
have resulted in a disastrous panic, but for the steadying effect 
of the financial legislation known as the Federal Reserve Act. 

At first, perhaps, the majority of Americans did not believe 
that this war would concern the United States any more than 
previous European conflicts had concerned this country, but it 
soon began to be realized by some, at least, that one side was con- 
tending for "world power" which would eventually involve the 
future of America. It also appeared that, on account of the 
modern uses of steam and electricity, the nations of the world 
had been drawn together even more closely than the parts of the 
American Union, fifty or one hundred years before. It gradually 
became more and more evident that the Imperial German 
Government had for nearly fifty years been preparing for "the 
day" of battle. 

The excuse for beginning the conflict was apparently pro- 
vided in the summer of 1914, when Francis Ferdinand, the heir 
to the throne of Austria-Hungary, was assassinated in origin of 
the streets of a town in Bosnia. The assassin and his *^^ ^^^ 
accomplices proved to be interested in a Serbian secret society 
which had been agitating the separation from Austria-Hungary 
of the Serbian part of that empire. Thereupon, subsequently to 
a great secret meeting of German and Austrian statesmen and 
militarists at Potsdam, Austria-Hungary, on July 23, sent an 
ultimatum to Serbia, accusing the Serbians of provoking the 



436 THE STORY OF OUR OWN TIMES 

murder of the Archduke, and making- that the occasion for a 
number of humiliating demands. These demands were, for the 
most part, accepted by the Serbians, except certain conditions 
which would have given Austria-Hungary absolute mastery of 
Serbia itself. These last conditions the Serbian Government 
oifered to submit to the Hague Tribunal for arbitration. 

On July 28, the Government of Austria-Hungary, stating that 
the repl}^ of Serbia was unsatisfactory, declared war. Meanwhile, 
with the exception of German^^the Gtreat Powers of Europe strove 
for peace. Austria-Hungary, however, mobilized her troops in 
such a way as to make it apparent that she was preparing for a 
clash with Russia, recognized as the ally of Serbia. Thereupon, 
Russia began to mobilize, not only to protest against the pro- 
posed destruction of Serbia, but to ward off the attack apparently 
threatened by Austria on her own borders, while the Czar tele- 
graphed the German Kaiser suggesting that the Austro-Serbian 
difficulties be referred to arbitration. 

On July 31, however, the German Government, complaining 
of the Russian mobilization, dispatched an ultimatum to Russia 
and another to France. The Imperial German Government 
demanded that Russia cease her preparations for war, while of 
the French Government an immediate reply was demanded as 
to whether France would remain neutral in case of a war between 
Russia and Germany. In reply, Russia refused to demobilize 
in the face of Austrian mobilization and on the threat of Ger- 
many, and France determined to stand by Russia. On the con- 
tinent, therefore, the die was cast in the way that Imperial 
Germany hoped for and expected. Her military leaders and 
statesmen did not, however, count on the interference of Great 
Britain, the European ally of France and Russia. The British 
Government did not wish to take part, but entered the war on 
August 4, when the neutrality of Belgium was violated by the 
German invasion. 

In accordance with international custom, the President of the 
United States issued a proclamation of neutralit}^ Questions, 
Submarine howevcr, that involved the rights of neutrals came up 
Warfare £qj, settlement almost at once, and the conflict was 
brought closer to America when, on February 4, 1915, Germany 



SUBMARINE WARFARE 



437 



declared a "war zone" around the British Isles. In this zone 
she proposed to give free rein to her submarines to sink any 
merchant vessels, regardless of the lives of any non-combatants 
on board. The Germans then announced that no restrictions 
would be placed upon neutral vessels, but gave warning that they 
might be sunk through error. 

Against this hitherto unheard of policy, the United States Gov- 
ernment protested. Very shortly, two American trade ships were 




A THREATENED SUBMARINE .ATTACK 

Throwing out a smoke screen to protect a convoy 

torpedoed with the loss of the vessels and several American lives. 
On May 7, however, America was amazed and horrified when the 
news came in that the giant British liner Liisitania had been 
sunk without notice off the coast of Ireland, with the loss of over 
a thousand lives — men, women, and children — one hundred and 
fourteen of whom were Americans. In the United States, a 
warning had been published in regard to the danger incurred 
by any Americans who might take passage on this vessel. This 
warning, like the writings of Pan-German militarists and teachers 



438 THE STORY OF OUR OWN TIMES 

prior to the war, went unheeded, for the world in general had 
not deemed such outrages possible. 

Not a few Americans expected and demanded a declaration 
of war ag-ainst Germany. President Wilson, however, whether he 
considered the sinking of the Lusitania a war issue or not, knew 
that powerful leaders in both the Democratic and Republican 
parties were opposed to war at this time. In any event, he deter- 
mined to do all in his power, by diplomacy and reasoning, to 
prevail upon the German Government to abandon all forms of 
warfare on the seas that were sure to endanger the lives of non- 
combatants. It was not clear to perhaps the majority of Ameri- 
cans until much later in the progress of the war, that all forms 
of moral suasion which might have been used in previous wars 
in preventing abuses of the rights of neutrals, could have no 
effect upon those who believed in the Prussian doctrine that 
''might makes right." 

Early in the progress of the diplomatic negotiations with Ger- 
many, Secretary of State William J. Bryan, resigned from the 
Cabinet for fear that war would prematurely ensue if the Presi- 
^. .^ J ^ . . dent should persist in his course of holding Ger- 

Divided Opinions V .,. „ . 

as to many to ' ' strict accountability ' ' for loss of Ameri- 

can lives on the merchant vessels of the Allied 
nations. In his place, the President appointed Robert Lansing, of 
New York, w^ho was prepared to uphold the President's policy. 
The nation was still beset with ' ' divided counsels. ' ' On the one 
hand, ex-President Roosevelt bitterly denounced the procedure of 
the Administration as weak and vacillating On the other, but 
for the determined stand of the President, it seemed that a ma- 
jority of Democrats and Republicans might have passed a bill 
through Congress warning Americans against taking passage in 
the vessels of the nations at war. When, in August, 1915, the 
White Star Liner Arabic was torpedoed with the loss of two 
Americans on board, the German Ambassador to the United 
States at once hastened on behalf or his Government to disavow 
the act. Ambassador von Bernstorff followed this by an official as- 
surance that thereafter no liners would be sunk without warning, 
and then with due regard to the safety of non-combatants, pro- 
vided no resistance were offered or escape attempted. Matters 



EMBARGO ON MUNITIONS PROPOSED 439 

again came to a crisis in March, 1916, when the British steamer 
Sussex was torpedoed without warning in the English Channel, 
for with the sinking of the Sussex, more American lives were lost. 
The German Government denied responsibilit}^ for the attack, 
but proof of German guilt was brought forward. Thereupon 
the German Government declared that its naval commandersi 
had received orders to abandon ruthless sinkings of merchant 
vessels, and for some time these sinkings ceased. It is now 
known, however, that the military masters of Germam- had no 
intention to keep these promises. They were preparing in secret 
for the time when they felt that,, with a new fleet of larger 
U-boats, they could win the war, regardless of the armed oppo- 
sition of America or au}^ other country. The Central Empires 
expected to starve Great Britain, demoralize Russia, crush 
France in battle, and overwhelm Italy before America could be 
aroused to come to their assistance.*^ 

One of the first matters pertaining to the conduct of neutrals 
brought to the attention of the Government of the United States 
was the making and furnishing of munitions for the Allies. The 
British Navy had driven the German merchant ves- 

. Embargo on 

sels off the seas, and the Allies alone had access to Munitions 

A • 1' i-i 1 • • Proposed 

American supplies. Consequently, insistent pressure 

was brought to bear upon the President and Congress to forbid 

the shipment of munitions. This pressure came not onl}' from 

*'^ In the light of present knowledge, it seems hard to believe that any 
American should at this time have continued to condone or excuse the 
acts authorized by the Imperial German Government and committed by 
its troops and agents or by its allies. It is hard to believe that there were 
large numbers of people who still felt that the Great War represented 
merely a struggle betAveen rival powers in Europe, and that the outcome 
did not especially concern America. Yet in defense of these mistaken 
individuals, it must be said that the representatives of the nations 
united against Germany could not reproach distant America unduly on 
account of these misapprehensions, for a varying minority of their own 
people, with the torch and sword at their very doors, preached pacifism 
or compromise. 

When all this is taken into consideration, therefore, it is less sur- 
prising that there should have been those in this country who failed at 
first to grasp the greater issues of the struggle. It was widely believed 



440 THE STORY OF OUR OWN TIMES 

the Central Powers direct, but also from Americans at home. 
The latter professed that they had ''millions of signatures to 
their petitions. ' ' The President, however, was firm and clear in 
refusing to yield ; and no action was taken, for the reason that 
international custom had long sanctioned the purchase by belli- 
gerents of munitions from neutral nations, and to abolish such 
a custom would place nations unprepared for war at the mercy 
of those who had deliberately planned for it. Furthermore, to 
abandon the custom in the midst of war would constitute an 
unneutral act in favor of Germany and against the Allied nations. 
This failure to get the President and Congress to place an 
embargo on the supply of munitions aroused the resentment of 
the German propagandists throughout the country, who resorted 
to criminal methods in an effort to break up the manufacture and 
shipment of war material. A regular system of terrorism was 
inaugurated, the extent of which was not realized until America 
herself went to war. Attempts w^ere made to destroy important 
railroad bridges; numerous explosions occurred in munition 
plants ; and millions of dollars w^orth of property was destroyed 
with the loss of many lives. Furthermore, bombs and infernal 
machines were placed in ships engaged in trans-Atlantic trade. 
In 1915, it was discovered that the Austrian Ambassador had 
actively supported plans to promote widespread strikes in Ameri- 
can industr}'. Thereupon, his recall was demanded by the 
American Government, together with that of certain German 
military attaches at Washington. 

that had war come to America before the people were better informed, 
divided counsels might have seriously endangered the safety of the Repub- 
lic and have prevented that unity of purpose essential to success. Besides 
the thousands of spies and secret agents in America then seeking in every 
way to mislead public opinion in regard to the true character of the 
struggle and of the ambitions of the Central Powers, there were a great 
number of people who' could not be persuaded to think ill of nations, the 
people and institutions of which they had formerly admired, and which 
had given to America, through immigration, so many good citizens. They 
failed to grasp the fact that this immigration had largely set in before 
the best German ideals were debased by Prussian brutality under the 
leadership of a Kaiser and a military aristocracy that recognized no 
decent code of conduct in public affairs. 



CAUSE OF BREAK WITH GERMANY 441 

In the midst of the second year of the World War, the Presi- 
dential campaign of 1916 began to take shape. With practically 
no opposition, Wilson and Marshall were renomi- Re-eiection of 
nated b}" the Democrats at the Convention in President wiison 
St. Louis. In the Republican convention at Chicago, an effort 
was made by the Republican leaders to placate in' every way 
possible those who had seceded from the Republican ranks in 
1912, and who had established the Progressive party. Finally, 
after considerable debate, Charles Evans Hughes, who had 
resigned from the United States Supreme Court, was nominated 
for President. At the same time, the convention of the Pro- 
gressive party was in session, and the Progressives insisted upon 
the nomination of Roosevelt as a prerequisite for reunion with 
the Republicans. When the Republican leaders refused to agree, 
the Progressives nominated Roosevelt by acclamation, but the 
latter declined this nomination and urged his followers to sup- 
port Hughes. Subsequently to his nomination, the Republican 
candidate severely attacked the record of the Democratic party. 
In this he had the support of Roosevelt, who had definitely 
abandoned the idea of maintaining a third party and who called 
for immediate action against Germany. 

During the campaign that followed, President Wilson was 
violently attacked by the extreme pro-German element, whose 
followers and sjonpathizers were urged to vote for Hughes, 
although no ''pro-German" had any good grounds to hope that 
Hughes would pursue a mild policy towards Germany. The 
election was extremely close, and it was not until complete returns 
came in from the far West that President Wilson's re-election 
became known. 

On January 22, 1917, the President appeared before Con- 
gress and proposed a league of nations to guard the rights of 
all peoples and to prevent war and aggression. On January 31, 
however, the German Ambassador to the United States announced 
that Germany would begin ''unrestricted" submarine 
warfare in European waters on a larger scale than cai^e^oV^ 
that which had been announced two years before and q^^^^^^^ 
temporarily abandoned. The plans in connection with 
this German blockade proposed to allow one American ship a 



442 THE STORY OF OUR OWN TIMES 

week to pass through a certain prescribed course to Falmouth. 
President Wilson replied to this proclamation of the Imperial 
German Government by appearing before Congress on February 
3, to announce that Count von Bernstorff had been given his 
passports and that diplomatic intercourse witih Germany had 
been severed. Few but believed that an ' ' overt act ' ' would soon 
bring a clash between the two countries. One month later, the 
President again appeared before Congress with the request that 
that body endorse a plan to put guns and war equipment for 
purposes of defense upon merchant ships. In the Senate, a 
small minority blocked this approval after it had passed the 
House, and Congress adjourned on March 4 without final action. 
By this time, the trend of thought in the United States was 
setting in for war against German}^ The President had the 
approval of the people when he himself ordered guns and guards 
put upon American merchant ships, more particularly as at this 
time the United States published the famous ''Zimmermann 
note", to which reference has already been made. 

On April 2, the President appeared before Congress in extra 
session to ask that war be formally declared, that the country 
Declaration be put in a statc of defense, and that a draft act be 
of War passed calling American manhood to the colors. On 

April 6, Congress declared war, and on May 18, the President 
signed a selective service act, which included in its call men 
from twenty-one to thirty-one. 

With war finally forced upon America, the President took 
the strongest possible measures, so that force might be met with 
greater force in order to make the world safe against autocracy 
and military aggression. His critics had accused him of inde- 
cision and of holding off too long the inevitable conflict. They 
had expected ' ' half -measures, ' ' but the President surprised these 
critics and the common foe by the vigor of his proposals. In 
giving the reasons for calling the nation to arms against Ger- 
many, the President had declared : 

''Neutrality is no longer feasible or desirable, when the 
peace of the world is involved, and the freedom of its peoples, 
and when the menace of that peace and freedom lies in the exis- 



REVOLUTION IN RUSSIA 443 

tence of autocratic governments backed by organized force which 
is controlled wholly by their will, not the will of their people. . . 

''We are now about to accept gauge of battle with this natural 
foe to liberty, and shall, if necessary, spend the whole force of 
the nation to check and nullify its pretensions and its power. 
We are glad, now that we see the facts with no veil of false 
pretence about them, to fight thus for the ultimate peace of the 
• world and for the liberation of its peoples, the German peoples 
included : for the rights of nations, great and small, and the 
privilege of men everywhere to choose their way of life and 
obedience. The world must be made safe for democracy. Its 
peace must be planted upon the tested foundations of political 
libert.y. We have no selfish ends to serve. We desire no eon- 
quest, no dominion. We seek no indemnities for ourselves, no 
material compensation for the sacrifices we shall freely make. 
We are but one of the champions of the rights of mankind. We 
shall be satisfied when those rights have been made as secure as 
the faith and the freedom of nations can make them." 

It w^as well for democracy and for the future of the United 
States that this country entered the war when it did, for further 
delay might have been fatal. The revolution in Russia Revolution 
in March, 1917, had dethroned the Czar, who had been ^" Russia 
surrounded in his own country by German spies and Russian 
traitors. The latter were able to nullify or bring to ultimate 
defeat advances secured by brave Russian armies under capable 
leaders. Under the circumstances, the revolution was well jus- 
tified, and at first it had able leaders and patriotic men at the 
head of it. Necessarih^, however, it brought in the Russian 
Government and in the army a period of disorganization. Ger- 
many, therefore, took full advantage of the situation. She placed 
large sums of money at the disposal of extremists,, among whom 
were Nikolai Lenine and Leon Trotzky, who had previously been 
sent into exile from Russia. Much of this money was used in 
the corruption of the simple Russian soldiers, who were told that 
the Germans were their friends and that all they had to do was 
to refuse to salute or obey their officers, lay down their arms, 
and a splendid peace would result. After the Russian armies 
had been rendered helpless by means of this propaganda, Lenine 



444 



THE STORY OF OUR OWN TIMES 



and Trotzky gained the upper hand and betrayed the best 
interests of their country to Germany in what became kno\^Ti as 
the Brest-Litovsk treaty. In the meantime, the Government had 
passed into the hands of these extremists, known as the Bolshe- 




AFRICA 



^ ^ SEA 



EUROPEAN 

BATTLE FROXTS 

Dec. 1917 

SCALE OF MILES 

(5 ii5o 2i)o iSo i3o 



viki, who substituted, for the old autocracy of the Czar, a new 
kind of autocrac}", representing- for the most part only the most 
ignorant minority of the people. This class planned to rule the 
rest of the Russians by force ; so they proceeded to slaughter in 
the most cold-booded manner those who did not agree with their 



''LAFAYETTE, WE ARE HERE!" 445 

ideas, and to confiscate the property of those who did not belong 
to their class or who w^ere likely even to oppose them. 

Towards the close of 1917, following- the collapse of Russia, 
the German General Staff began to turn every effort to preparing 
for an offensive on the Western front. They first Events in 
devoted their attention to the Italian armies, which ^^^^^ 
had almost w^on the important city of Trieste in southern Austria. 
A part of the Italian army was first demoralized in much the 
same w^ay that the Russian army had been demoralized — ^by 
means of the same kind of pacifist propaganda insidiously spread 
by the enemy. Italian troops were encouraged to fraternize with 
Austrians, and then after these particular Austrian troops had 
been withdrawn from that point, Germany massed her men and 
struck a terrible blow at the spot weakened by this treachery. 
The Italian armies were driven back with staggering losses in 
men and material, and by wdnter the Austro-German forces had 
overrun a large part of Northern Italy before they w^ere finally 
blocked near the line of the Piave River, very much as the Ger- 
mans had been blocked on the Marne in France three years before. 

It was at this time that the cry came from France for the 
actual presence of at least a few American troops to help raise 
the spirits of the French, w^ho had borne the burden "Lafayette, 
of war and the shock of invasion by a ruthless foe ^^ ^^^ Here!" 
for nearly four years. In America, it had been at first proposed 
to train a citizen soldiery by means of in- 
struction by regular troops. America 
gave up this plan to heed the call from 
France. With a staff of officers, General 
John J. Pershing, who had been serving 
on the Mexican border, was sent over to 
France. American troops follow^ed, the 
first force landing there on June 26, 1917, 
somewhat over a month after the Ameri- 
can navy had begun to cooperate wath the 
British in their prolong-ed warfare on 

GENERAL JOHN' J. PERSHING 

the U-boats. Commander -in -chief of 

Although in minor matters, and in Amencan jExped.tyj.ary 

some phases of effort in larger things, the w^orid War. 




446 



THE STORY OF OUR OWN TIMES 



the work of the War Department showed, from the first, weakness 
and inefficiency, it seems almost unfair, in a brief review, to 
make reference to inevitable misfits of personnel or to minor 
shortcomings in so sudden an expansion of work 
Aa?(unifiishment ^^^^ workcrs representing several thousand per 
in War qq^^i q^q^ normal times. It is better, therefore, to 

Preparation _ ' . ' 

lay emphasis on the. fact that the results achieved 
amazed the world, and none more than the military masters of 
Germany. Ever the possibilities hinted at and barely hoped for 
by those at home were far surpassed. AVhile wonderful things 
had been expected of a wonderful people, the beliei was gen- 
erally expressed by able men that America might possibly help 
to decide the issue in 1919. Few indeed were they who thought 
that the power of the United States would turn the scales of 
victory as early as 1918. 

The first American naval loss of consequence at sea occurred 
on December 6, when the Jacob Jones, a 
United States destroyer, was sunk by a 
German submarine with the loss of sixty 
men. The American sea forces, trained to 
high efficiency under Admiral Sims and 
other naval officers, soon began to co- 
operate with the British fleet in working 
out a '' convoy system" for the transpor 
tation of troops and supplies, which, ni 
the case of outgoing transports, defeated 
the most determined efforts of the sub- 
marines, except in one instance. More- 
over, American inventive genius made 
progress in perfecting new devices to 
combat the dreaded underwater craft of the enemy. 

The winter months of' 1917-1918 w^ere spent in process . of 
preparation for the operations of the coming campaign. Al- 
though the military authorities of Germany affected to despise 
the hurried preparations of America for war, and the hastily 
trained forces of the United States, these same authorities were 
preparing feverishly for a great drive in the spring, which was 
expected to overwhelm the Allies before the Americans could 




VICE-ADMIRAL "W. S. SIMS 

Commander-in-chief pf 
American naval forces in 
European waters during 
the World War. 



THE GREAT GERMAN DRIVES OF 1918 447 

render effective military assistance. Perhaps the majority of 
military writers at this time felt assured that the war would 
continue for two or possibly three years longer. Nevertheless, 
the Kaiser, as the upholder of autiocracy, and the American 
President, as the spokesman of the principles of democracy, made 
statements to the effect that 1918 would at least be likel}^ to prove 
the "decisive" year of the struggle. With his usual foresight 
in matters of this kind, President Wilson announced some ' ' Four- 
teen Points" as essential to a just and enduring peace, in the 
confident belief that democracy would win the struggle. These 
"Fourteen Points" were laid before Congress on January 8 and, 
at the time, seemed to meet with general acceptance at home 
and abroad.** 

While the Allied forces in the field had not been idle during 
the winter of 1917- '18, the German High Conunand had been 
busy, not only in bringing troops from the Eastern and Western 
fronts, but had also been giving vast numbers of these troops 
special training for the coming off'ensive. No pains 
were spared to make every effort to disguise the pro- cermar^* 
posed point of attack. Judging, therefore, that all JJis^^^ *"* 
things were ready, the Germans, on March 21, 1918. 
began a series of tremendous drives on an unprecedented scale. 
The mighty Avar machine of autocracy, planned in all its parts 
for a generation or more, and brought to its highest perfection 
in three and a half years of service in the field, drove forward 
against a battle-front held by free peoples only, whose citizens 
(the French excepted) had been converted into soldiers since 
the war began. The German General Staff, under the guidance 
of Ludendorff and Hindenburg, struck first at the point of 
junction of the French and British armies, in the hope of driving 
a weda:e between the forces of the Allied nations. So well had 



** Subsequently, these principles were made tlie subject of attack every- 
where, but it is certain that when the substance of them became known 
in Germany they served to undermine the influence of- the extreme mili- 
tarists in that country These, and President Wilson's adroit correspon- 
dence prior to the armistice, discredited the military autocrats, and greatly 
hastened the end of the war. 



448 



THE STORY OF OUR OWN TIMES 



they disguised their aims that the attack was not expected. 
Moreover, it was timed to fall just after the British line had been 
extended to the eastward too far, it is said, to have behind it at 
that point a sufficient reserve force. For thirty miles, in some 
places, over a fifty mile front, the German armies drove onward 
in the confident expectation not only of cutting off entirely the 
lines of communication between the Allied armies, but of break- 




An American-made "baby" tank. This engine of warfare represents one of the smaller 
tanks for use "at the front." Frank Parker Stockbridge, in "The World's Work" for 
March, 1919, states that: "Had the war gone on until spring we would have had 10,000 or 
more of these fighting machines at the front." This war machine "is lighter and has more 
power than the small French tank, having two Ford automobile engines for motive power 
and mounting a heavy Browning machine-gun." 

ing through to the upper ports of France on the English Channel, 
where they could establish new bases for U-boats and shut off 
the escape of the main British army. 

Nevertheless, although the British were taxed to the limit of 
human endurance, the line did not break, even if, at one point, 
non-combatants of all kinds had hastily to be gathered together 
to prevent the fatal "break-through." The obstinate bravery 
of the Anglo-Saxon, combined with the dash of the British Celt, 
had again, as at Waterloo, thrown itself in the path of a mili- 
tary autocrat. 



THE GREAT GERMAN DRIVES OF 1918 449 

When this German drive was finally halted, a cry went up 
for a "unified command," or for a general-in-chief of all the 
Allied armies. President Wilson used the weight of his influence 
to bring this about, and the French General, Ferdinand Foch, 
who had distinguished himself in the First Battle of the Marne 
and on other occasions, was selected for this responsible position. 
Forthwith, with the approval of the American Administration, 
General Pershing offered all the American forces then in France 
to be put at the disposal of the new Commander-in-Chief. For 
the time being, the hope and expectation of the American troops 
to hold their o^ati front and do their own fighting as a separate 
unit Avas abandoned, while steps were immediately taken to 
double and quadruple the transportation of American troops 
from the training camps at home. 

The first great German drive of 1918 lasted from March 21 
to April 1. It was distinguished by the use of enormous num- 
bers of huge gas shells hurled from large guns far into the rear 
of the British trenches. The great missiles containing gas were 
accompanied by large quantities of explosive shells directed upon 
all points of supply and communication, to prevent the sending 
of relief to the front. This great ''Battle of Picardy" extended 
from Arras to La Fere. 

While the British were recovering from this great attack, 
which had cost them ground gained by manj^ bloody combats in 
the past, besides enormous supplies of men and material, the 
Germans began a second offensive between Arras and Ypres. 
Between these two points, hy April 19, the Germans had advanced 
a maximum of ten miles on a front of thirty miles. B}^ this 
time the British were better prepared; their own casualties 
were far less than in the previous German offensive, while, on 
the other hand, the German losses in killed, wounded, and cap- 
tured were exceptionally heavy. Nevertheless, the British had 
been compelled to evacuate two important ridges, which had been 
gained only at tremendous sacrifices earlier in the war. 

While the Allies were anticipating further attacks against 

the British in the German effort to capture the Channel ports, 

the Germans suddenly turned to attack the French to the south 

and east. This third great drive was directed against the French 

29 



450 



THE STORY OF OUR OWN TIMES 



line from near Laon to Rheims, and began on May 27. As in 
the first drive against the British, the Germans advanced a 
maximum of thirty miles. For several daysl they swept back 




TYPICAL, TRENCH PHOTOGRAPH 

Showing first and second lines, communicating trenches, listening posts, machine gun 
emplacements, and barbed wire. 

the French in much the same way that they had hurled back 
the British two months before, capturing valuable heights, tens 
of thousands of prisoners, and much war material, over a front 
of thirty-five miles. 



AMERICAN SOLDIERS TO THE FRONT 451 

When the great drive had been halted, the Germans were 
upon the Marne for the second time in four years of fighting. 
It was then that they faced American units — marines and others 
sent forward many miles to help the French stem the tide at 
Chateau-Thierry, a name which in the annals of French- 
American friendship will go down with that of York- f^lfgrt" 
town. Bv a remarkable coincidence, the Americans *? t^^ 

" ' Front 

barred the way to Lafayette 's estate as well as the road 
to Paris. Here, shoulder to shoulder with the French, they 
turned upon the German troops a fire which amazed their French 
comrades by reason of its deadly accuracy. The Germans learned 
that these American soldiers deserved the reputation accorded 
them of the best marksmen in the world, while a French officer, 
watching them, is reported to have said that under a terrible 
fire for the first time, they were as cool as in drill or practice. 

On June 1-2, the third great German drive was checked. 
The Americans pursued an advantage obtained over the best 
of the German "shock" troops of the famous Fifth Prussian 
Guard and the Twenty-eighth Division and drove the enemy out 
of Belleau Wood, an important point, to which the Germans 
clung desperately, and from which they hoped to launch another 
great drive for Paris. On June 9, the Germans resumed their 
offensive in a fourth drive ; but as their second offensive against 
the British, the point of attack was more or less expected. Con- 
sequently, on a front of twenty miles, between Montdidier and 
Noyon, the invaders were able to advance but six miles at the 
maximum. Nevertheless, these six miles carried them to within 
forty-five miles of Paris. The Marne had been crossed, and mat- 
ters looked exceedingly grave for the Allied cause. 

When, therefore, the Germans, on July 15, began their fifth, 
and, as it proved, final drive, it was all-important not only to 
stop them, but to throw them back by the calling together of all 
troops available. By looking at the map, it will be seen that 
the Germans had made great wedges, or salients, in the Allied 
lines. These wedges might be attacked to advantage from the 
sides, if the lines at or near the apex or the front attacked should 
hold. The German commanders knew^ the danger, and their fifth 



452 



THE STORY OF OUR OWN TIMES 



offensive extended over the widest front yet assailed by them 
at one time. 

On July 18, however, Foch gave the long-waited order for a 
connter-off'ensive. The attack was begun by French and Ameri- 

^ , cans on a twentv-eight mile front, from Belleau 

Counter-offensive Wood to Avcst of Soissons — from the Marne to 
the Aisne. This great counter-move was begun without extended 
artillery preparation ; the Germans were taken by surprise ; and 




the offensive was lost to them, never to be regained on a large 
scale. The Allied Commander now had the men and the muni- 
tions and the unified conimand for the control of all the Allied 
forces. Hence, General Foch was able to strike again and again 
wherever he felt that the Germans were least prepared, and at 
any point along the great line of battle from Switzerland to the 
North Sea. At one time the French would strike, at another 
the Americans, and at still another the British, and again all 



COLLAPSE OF THE GERMAN ALLIES 453 

three would strike together at both the weak and strong points 
of the enemy's line, whenever military or moral advantage was 
to be gained. 

On August 8, the British developed a surprisingly successful 
offensive to the north and west. This great offensive eventually 
overlapped a part of the famous Hindenburg line of trenches, 
which the German soldiers had been led to believe were impreg- 
nable. It was, perhaps, the most significant event of August 
and earl3^ September. On September 12, the Americans began 
an offensive of their own, and in two davs succeeded in driving 
the Germans entirely- out of the great wedge that they had held 
for four years east of Verdun, kno^^^l at the St. Mihiel salient. 
Throughout the Allied offensive, the big and little armored trac- 
tors known as '"tanks" were relied upon to overcome machine- 
gun nests and in many cases to cross the great trench systems 
in the van of the attacking infantry, so that by the end of Sep- 
tember, the Allied forces had captured no less than a quarter of 
a million prisoners, large cannon by the thousands, and 23,000 
machine guns, upon which arm the Germans had especially 
begun to depend, particularly in defensive warfare. In many 
cases, it was found that the gunners were chained to the guns; 
so that their militar^^ masters forced them, whether they willed 
it or not, to fight to the end. 

By this time the Germans had been driven back to points 
behind their original trench systems, and great events had begun 
to take place in the East, destined to overthrow forever the 
Kaiser's dream of Mitteleuropa (Middle Europe) 
under the control of Germany, which was intended to the German 

Allies 

extend from Berlin to Bagdad and beyond. As far 
back as January, 1917, the British forces had begun an advance 
along the line of the Tigris River in the direction of Bagdad. 
By February, important towns and territory were retaken from 
the Turks under their German military leaders, and on March 
1, the British entered Bagdad itself. The collapse of Russia, 
however, endangered to some extent the British advance in this 
direction. Redoubled efforts were put forward to secure Pales- 
tine, for the protection of the Suez Canal and for the overthrow 
of the Turks in that region. On December 10, Jerusalem had 



454 THE STORY OF OUR OWN TIMES 

surrendered to General Allenby. Here British operations halted 
for some months. 

In the middle of September, the Allied armies between the 
Adriatic and Aegean Seas, consisting' of Italians, Serbians, 
Greeks, French, and British, began an offensive under General 
D'Espercy which drove back in rout Bulgarian, Austrian, and 
German forces on a wide front. Within the short period of two 
weeks, Bulgaria was forced to sue for an armistice, and by the 
end of September that country was definitely out of tJie war. 

Upon the fall of Bulgaria, Turkey was not only cut off from 
her Austro-German allies, but was threatened from the rear, 
while her armies were being defeated in Palestine, where, in the 
same period, 50,000 Turkish soldiers and hundreds of heavy 
cannon had been captured. In October, General Allenby had 
also captured Damascus and the important junction point of 
Aleppo. One month, therefore, after the fall of Bulgaria, Tur- 
key sought an armistice and gave up the fight. 

On October 24, after the fall of Bulgaria and shortly before 
Turkey sued for peace, the Italians began a great offensive in 
which the armies of Austria-Hungary were overthrown and 
that proud empire was brought to her knees early in November. 
At that time, the Italians, with whom there were some British, 
French, and American troops, had captured 100,000 prisoners, | 
and enormous quantities of war material of all kinds. More- 
over, the Italians had begun their final offensive on the first 
anniversary of the great disaster which had overwhelmed them 
on Austrian soil in the preceding year. 

There is no doubt that the German military authorities looked 
with dismay upon the collapse of their dreams of empire in 
the southeast. They still hoped, however, to bargain with the 
^^ ^ ^ ^ Allies for their gains at the expense of 

The German Government . ° i 7n 

Attempts Negotiations Russia, at Icast. Consequently, Germany 

with President Wilson , n . .i i a . • ^ i • ^ ^i ^ 

began nrst through Austria to hint that 
conquests in the west might be given up, if peace negotiations 
were to begin. Later, the German Government itself sought to 
entrap President Wilson by declaring itself in agreement with 
the fourteen points he set forth on January 8. The American 
President, however, knowing the shifty character of Prussian 



THE AMERICAN DRIVE 455 

promises, first asked the German Chancellor whether he spoke 
for the German people or for the German military authorities, 
and in the course of the discussion, led the Imperial German 
Government to the point where it was forced to condemn itself. 
For the first time, the Geraian Government abandoned the proud 
word Imperial, and the German Chancellor asserted that he was 
seeking" peace not as the representative of the Kaiser and the 
military aristocracy, but as the agent of the German masses. 
President Wilson, however, demanded clearer proof of this 
change, showing clearly in his final note that the United States 
could not treat with a government which had shown the world 
that it did not respect its promises. He demanded a definite 
and positive guarantee of good faith, which the German Govern- 
ment was not prepared to give. Events showed that this moral 
victory secured by the American President was of an impor- 
tance equal to the advance of the Allied armies on the field 
of battle. 

It may be noted at this point that the American government, 
not being joined in a formal alliaiice wdth the Allied govern- 
ments, could, while cooperating with the Allies, act more or less 
independently in an exchange of notes with the German Govern- 
ment. At this time, the President knew also that he was acting 
with the W'cight of authority and power. Two million American 
soldiers w^re then in service abroad, hundreds of thousands 
were in active training at home, and, by a special draft act, an 
additional 12,000,000 men from eighteen to twenty-one and from 
thirty-one to forty-five had been called up for registration to 
serve as needed. By November it was shown also that 21,000,000 
Americans had subscribed approximately $7,000,000,000 to the 
Fourth Liberty Loan, or nearly $1,000,000,000 over the mark set. 

Such w^as the situation at the beginning of November, when 
t!he American First Army began a wonderful drive in the 
country northwest of Verdun. The French had been moving 
forward to tihe w^est, both British and Belgians had ^^^ 
regained the Belgian ports so long used as naval bases American 
for the German submarines, and the Hindenburg sys- 
tems of trenches had been overrun on every side. With unsur- 
passed bravery, the American troops fought their way through 



456 THE STORY OF OUK OWN TIMES 

the great Argonne Forest in France. Here they met with the 
most desperate resistance and powerfully fortified defences which 
included thousands of scientifically protected machine gun 
''nests" arranged in rows of concrete emplacements. A single 
group of these guns furnished a fire equivalent to that formerly 
produced by entire companies or battalions of infantry armed 
with rifles. Necessarily, the advance was slow at times, but the 
Americans were not to be denied either by a powerful foe or by 
natural obstacles. Companies and regiments suffered cruel 
losses, but always they advanced. By the seventh of November 
they had entered Sedan, after forcing the passage of the Meuse 
river in an advance of thirty miles in eight days. In accom- 
plishing this, the Americans succeeded in cutting into what was 
recognized as perhaps the most important of the German lines 
of communication and retreat. The German armies to the west 
and east were thereby practically separated. Another such 
offensive to the east must have undoubtedly caused the sur- 
render of huge forces of the enemy, together with the capture 
of military supplies, material, and iron mines, essential to the 
defense of Germany itself. 

Recognizing that they were facing an overwhelming disaster, 
equal to or greater than that which had befallen, Austria- 
Hungary, the German military authorities asked and 
rmis ice ^g^gj^g^^ permission to send delegates to consult with 
Marshal Foch about such armistice terms as the Allies should 
impose. In their turn, the Allies had perceived the coming of 
the end, and these terms were already prepared. Germany was, 
therefore, given seventy-tAVo hours to accept or reject them. 
On Novmber 11, the German envoys returned to sign the armis- 
tice, under which Germany was rendered practically helpless to 
renew the conflict; for the terms involved and included the 
evacuation of Luxemburg and of those portions of Belgium and 
France that were still held by the Germans, the evacuation of 
Alsace and Lorraine, seized by Germany forty-seven years 
before, and the occupation of German territory to the Rhine, 
together with ''bridgehead" safeguards beyond that river. The 
East was protected by requiring the renunciation of the treaties 
Germany had forced upon Rumania at Bucharest and on Russia 



REVOLUTION IN GERMANY 457 

at Brest-Litovsk, together with the withdrawal of all German 
troops from Austria-Hungary, Rumania, Turkey, and Russia. 
All prisoners of war in Grermany were to be returned to the 
Allies without, during the armistice period, the return of Ger- 
man prisoners. In addition to these terms, the surrender of all 
submarines was demanded, in addition to the larger portion of 
the German battle fleet. 

On November 10, the German Kaiser Wilhelm II fled to 
Holland, where he was later joined by the Crown Prince, although 
the formal abdication of the Kaiser was not issued Revolution 
by the new German Government until November 30. ^^ Germany 
After the armistice was signed, a provisional government 
had been called into being under* the leadership of Friedrich 
Ebert, a Social Democrat. Riots broke out in Berlin and other 
cities, and it seemed for awhile as if the Bolshevism which the 
rulers of Germany had foisted upon Russia would, in turn, 
disrupt Germany. 

The signing* of the armistice signified the greatest 
triumph of the principles of representative democracy in 
the history of its long struggle with autocracy. It now 
became the task of the victors to restore the world by 
orderly processes and a peace that would, if possible, 
prevent a recurrence of the terrible sufferings brought 
upon the world by ^^conscienceless rulers presiding over 
governments in no way responsible to the people." 

These great problems and many minor ones were to 
be presented before the Peace Conference at Paris. 
President Wilson had already outlined, in his Fourteen 
Points, the most important subjects to be discussed at the 
Conference. It was he who had urged that the oppor- 
tunity should be seized for a formation of a league of 
nations, or peoples, to replace the ages-old ''balance of 
power'' system, which had ever become unbalanced as the 
power of rival governments waxed and waned. In view 



458 THE STORY OF OUR OWN TIMES 

of these facts, and also because he believed that the Chief 
Executive of the United States might be able to do more 
than anyone else to reconcile the differences that would 
be sure to arise at any meeting of the great and small 
Powers of Europe, the President determined to attend 
the Conference. 

A little over a month, therefore, after the signing of 
the armistice, Woodrow "Wilson, the first American 
President to spend an appreciable time off the soil of the 
United States, arrived in France ; and, before the opening 
of the Peace Conference, visited the capitals of France, 
Great Britain, and Italy. 



CONTEMPORARY EVENTS 

At the time when the following paragraphs are being 
written, history is in the making, events are shaping them- 
selves, and new policies are being projected or undergoing 
discussion. In 1919, the Allied nations and the United 
States gathered about the ^ ^ Peace Table ' ' and laid down 
certain terms which the defeated nations were required 
to accept. 

War and the menace of an invading foe had previously 
compelled harmony among the Allied Powers of Europe. 
Peace brought discord and a wrangle of disagreement as 
to terms, boundaries, and alliances. No one knows the 
outcome. A LeagTie of Nations was embodied in the 
treaty framed at Versailles. 

Although intended and urged as an escape from war, 
the League itself has that claim yet to prove. Its advo- 
cates believe that it will prevent war; many of its op- 
ponents assert that it is likely to have the contraiy effect. 
Urged especially by President Wilson of the United 
States, the allied nations of the Old World and those of 
South America accepted it, while the United States Senate 
refused to sanction its terms. 

In the United States, it remains for the verdict of the 
historian of the future to say with certainty whether there 
be blame or creditattached to its defeat, or even upon whom 
this blame or credit should be placed. The question became 
the most debated issue of the Presidential campaign of 
1920. The Democratic candidate for President em- 
jjhatically declared in favor of the participation of the 

459 



460 CONTEMPORARY EVENTS 

United States in the Leagne, with "interpretative" or 
"mild" reservations; the Republican candidate finally 
declared against it. The Democrats were overwhelmingly 
defeated, and the Republican candidate, by the same token, 
swept the country. It would seem that such an outcome 
had settled the issue, and that the United States would 
stay outside the League. But again the decision cannot be 
rendered, with certainty — ^^vllile history is "in the 
making'" — for, throughout the campaign, regardless of 
the statements of the Republican nominee, one wing of 
the Republican party, led by ex-President Taft and other 
friends of the League, stoutly maintained that they sup- 
ported the Republican nominee because through his elec- 
tion the entrance of the United States into the League 
would be more certain than if the Democratic candidate 
should be elected. The other wing of the Republican 
party, led by Senators Johnson, of California, and Borah, 
of Idaho, expressed themselves as being unalterably op- 
posed to the League. For that reason, they declared they 
were working for the election of their associate, in the 
Senate, who, they emphatically asserted had jjrivately 
first and publicly afterwards, declared his absolute op- 
position to the LeagTie.^ 

If this, then, be the uncertain state of affairs in 
America, it must be equally difficult to write with assur- 
ance as to foreign affairs, problems, and the great ques- 
tions of world politics in which the United States is and 
must be vitally concerned. After this brief review of the 
unsettled conditions of the greatest of the problems that 

^ Naturally, there were many other issues involved. As to the import- 
ance of these issues in determining the result, there is the widest diversity 
of opinion. 



CONTEMPORARY EVENTS 461 

have arisen out of the peace negotiations, it is necessary 
to consider t.he events of two post-bellum years somewhat 
in accordance with their importance and, in large meas- 
ure, in the order of their occurrence. 

Beginning with 1018, the personality or leadership of 
President Wilson became a storm center. Up to that year, 
Woodrow Wilson had been remarkably successful in 
national and pai*ty leadership. Like Roosevelt, he aroused 
bitter antagonisms, but, unlike Roosevelt, he did not make 
friends so readily. He reached the summit of his power in 
the winter of 1917- '18. He lost prestige noticeably when 
he appealed, unsuccessfully, at first, to the Senate for 
woman-suffrage votes in order that the proposed Nine- 
teenth Amendment might be offered to the States for 
ratification. Thereafter, again, while crediting the Re- 
publican party for cooperation in the prosecution of the 
World War, he appealed to the country to return a 
Democratic Congress in the elections of 1918. In any 
event, or for whatever cause, his appeal was denied, and 
the Republicans gained control of Congress. 

When the Allied Powers were prepared to gather 
around the Peace Table at Paris, President Wilson an- 
nounced his intention of being present. He carried over 
with him his ideals for an association of nations and the 
establishment of the other ''points of peace,'' Avhich he 
had, apparently with almost universal approval, pro- 
claimed in 1917 (p. 447). In Europe, the President was 
given a popular welcome such as no man had ever before 
received — and then his ideas or ideals came in contact 
with details — ^with the secret treaties, the conflicting 
claims of European politics. Of the struggle that fol- 
lowed — as to how much of the President's ideals were 



462 CONTEMPORARY EVENTS 

practical, or as to how much European practice is ideal — 
the truth has yet to be written. 

At times, the unity or integrity of the Conference 
seemed lost; but, in the end, the representatives of the 
Allied Powers signed the Treaty of Versailles with a 
League of Nations as part and parcel of the agreement. 
President Wilson finally returned to the United States in 
the spring of 1919. The Treat}' Avas laid before the 
United States Senate and, as above stated, rejected by 
that body. In an effort to carry the issue directly to the 
people in a tour from coast to coast, the President's 
health broke down ; and he returned to the White House 
an invalid. Apparently, thereafter, the Democratic party 
drifted along in an almost leaderless condition while the 
Republicans made great headway throughout the countrj^. 

In June, the Republican convention assembled in 
Chicago. For the Presidential nomination, the most prom- 
inent candidate before the body was General Leonard 
Wood, the next most prominent candidate being Governor 
Frank 0. Lowden, of Illinois. After many ballots, in 
which there were represented such well-contrasted figures 
as Herbert Hoover, the gifted '^Food Administrator" of 
war times, on the one hand, and Senator Robert M. 
LaFollette, of Wisconsin, the war obstructionist, on the 
other, Senator Warren Gamaliel Harding, of Ohio, was 
finally chosen; and Governor Calvin Coolidge, of Massa- 
chusetts, was nominated for Vice-President. 

The Democrats met in San Francisco in July; and, 
after drawing up a platform which endorsed the record 
of the Administration as fully as the Republicans had 
denounced it, declared for American participation in the 
Council of the League of Nations. With the names of 



DATES AND EVENTS OF THE WORLD WAR 403 

WiJliam il. MeAdoo, of Xcw York; John \V. iJavis, ul' 
West Virginia, and Govenior James Middleton Cox, of 
Ohio, most prominent in the balloting, the last-named 
finally received the nomination for President, while 
Franklin K. Roosevelt, of New York, Assistant Secre- 
tary of the Na\y, was nominated for Vice-President. 

The result of the election that followed has been given 
above. The President-elect has declared his intention of 
endeavoring to solve, with the help of Congress, many 
difficult domestic problems, particularly those regarding 
taxes and public revenue. Also he faces the task of 
reconciling party differences on foreign policies, in which 
the i^roblem of participation in the League of Nations is 
most prominent. The League itself has opened its first 
sessions in Geneva, Switzerland, with over forty Powers 
represented in its councils. Wliatever happens, whether 
the United States enters or not — the League covenant is 
of historical interest and importance and its terms or 
articles are set forth in the Appendix; and it may be 
added that the general principles of an association of 
nations met with the approval of Wood row Wilson's 
immediate predecessors in office : Theodore Roosevelt and 
William Howard Taft. 



DATES AND EVEXTS OF THE WORLD WAR FOR PURPOSES OF 

REFERENCE 

1914 

January 2<S, Francis Ferdinand, heir to Anstro-Hungarian throne, shot in 

Bosnia by a Serbian sympathizer. 
July 5, German Kaiser, Wilhelm IT, presides over Aiislr.i-Him>i:iri:iii and 

German War Connoil at Potsdam. 
July 23, Austria-Hnngary sends ultimatum to Serbia. 
July 28, Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia. 
August 1, Germany declares war on Russia. 



464 CONTEMPORARY EVENTS 

August 2, Germany sends ultimatum lo Belgium demanding free passage for 

troops. 
August 3, Germany declares war on France. 
August 4, Great Britain declares war on Germany. 
August 4, Neutrality of United States proclaimed. 
August 6, Austria-Hungary declares war on Russia. 
August 12, France and Great Britain declare war on Austria-Hungary. 
August 23, Japan declares war on Germany. 
September 6-10, Germans thrown hack from liefore Paris in the first Battle 

of the Marne. 
September 16. German victory at Tannenberg (August 26 to 31) ; Russians 

evacuate East Prussia. 
November 1, German naval victory off the coast of Chile. 
November 3-5, Russia, France, and Great Britain declare war on Turkey. 
December 8, British naval victory off the Falkland Islands. 
December 24, First of the German air raids on Great Britain. 

1915 

Januarv 28, American merchantman William P. Frye sunk by German 

cruiser. 
February 4, Germany proclaims war zone around British Isles, dating from 

February 18. 
February 10, Government of the United States sends note to German Govern- 
ment warning the latter that it will be held to " strict accountability." 
February 18, Beginning of U-boat blockade of England. 

April 22, First use of poison gas by the Germans in second battle near Ypres. 
May 1, American steamship Gulf light sunk by German submarine with loss 

of two Americans. 
Mav 7, British liner Lusitania torpedoed by submarine, 114 Americans lost. 
May 13, American note of protest in regard to the Lusitania. 
May 23, Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary. 

June 9, William J. Bryan, Secretary of State, resigns from Cabinet, 
August 19, British liner Arabic sunk by U-boat. Two Americans lost. 
August 21, Italy declares war on Turkey. 
September 1, Count von Bernstorff, the German ambassador, gives' assurance 

that German submarines will sink no more liners without due warning. 
September 8, United States demands recall of Dr. Dumba, the Austro- 

Hungarian ambassador. 
October 5, German Government expresses regret for and disavows sinking of 

the Arabic, and prepares to pay indemnities. 
October 14, Bulgaria declares war on Serbia. 
October 15-19, Great Britain, France, Russia, and Italy declare war against 

Bulgaria. 
December 3, United States Government demands recall of Captain Boy-Ed 

and Captain von Papen, attaches of the German Embassy. 



DATES AND EVENTS OF THE WORLD WAR 465 

1916 

February 10, Germany gives notice to neutral powers that armed merchant 

ships will be sunk without warning. 
February 15, Secretary Lansing makes statement that by international law 

commercial vessels may carry arms in self-defense. 
February 16. Germany acknowledges liability for the sinking of the 

Li(sifa7iia. 
February 21, Battle of Verdun begun. 
April 18, United States sends note to Germany threatening the severance of 

diplomatic relations unless the German Government al)andons methods 

of submarine warfare. 
May 4, Germany issues conditional pledge not to sink merchant ships with- 
out warning. 
May 13, Naval battle off Jutland between British and German fleets. 
July 1, Beginning of the Battle of the Somme. 
August 27, Italy declares war on Germany. 
August 27, Rumania enters the war on the side of the Allies. 
October 7, First German \var submarine announced off American coast. 
September 15, First use of "tanks" by the British in the Battle of the 

Somme. 
December 18, President Wilson seeks statement of the aims of the belligerent 

nations. 

1917 

February 1, Germany violates her pledges to the ITnited States and begins 

'■ unrestricted " submarine warfare. 
February 3, United States severs diplomatic relations witli Germany. 
February 26, President Wilson asks authority to arm mercliant ships. 
February 28, '" Zimmermann note " published. 
March 11, British enter Bagdad. 
March 12, United States announces armed guards will bo placed on mercliant 

vessels. 
March 12, Beginning of Russian revolution. 
March 24, American Minister Whitlock and American Relief Commission 

withdrawn from Belgium. 
April 2, President Wilson appears before Congress to declare the existence 

of a state of war with Germany. 
April 6, Congress declares war on Germany. 

April 8, Austria-Hungary severs diplomatic relations with the United States. 
April 21, Turkey severs diplomatic relations with the United States. 
May 4, American navy begins operations in the war zone. 
May 18, President Wilson signs selective service act calling upon men from 

21 to 31, inclusive. 
June 26, First American troops arrive in France. 
June 29, Greece enters war against Germanv and her allies. 

30 



466 CONTEMPORARY EVENTS 

October 24, Great Italian reverse at Caporetto. 

November 3, First clasb between American and German soldiers in France. 

November 7, Establishment of Bolsheviki in Russia, 

December 6, United States destroyer Jacoh Jones sunk by submarine. 

December 7, United States declares war on Austria-Hungary. 

December 10, British capture Jerusalem. 

December 21, Peace negotiations opened at Brest-Litovsk, between Bolshe- 
viki and the Central Powers. 

December 28, United States Government takes over the control of tlie rail- 
roads as a war measure. 

1918 

January 28, Statement in Congress of the " Fourteen Points " by President 

Wilson. 
February 5, British transport Tuscania sunk with loss of 211 American 

soldiers. 
March 21-April 1, First great German drive of 1918. 
March 28, Long distance bombardment of Paris begins. 
March 28, General Ferdinand Foch made Allied Generalissimo. 
April 9-18, Second German drive between Ypres and Arras. 
May 21. British transport Mold<iria sunk with loss of 53 American soldiers. 
May 25, German submarines begin operations extending over a period of 

several weeks along the American coast. For the most part, vessels of 

minor size and importance are victims. 
May 27-June 1, Third German drive against French. 
May 28, American forces capture important village of Cantigny. 
May 31-June 2, Germans reach the Marne and are halted at Chateau-Thierry 

by the French and American Marines. 
May 31, United States transport President Lincoln, homeward bound, sunk 

by submarine, 23 lives lost. 
June 9-16, Fourth German drive east of Montdidier. 
June 11, American Marines take Belleau Wood. 

June 14, First American bombing squadron begins operations north of Briey. 
July 15-18, British and American forces occupy positions on the Murman 

coast in Northern Russia. 
July 15-18, Fifth German drive. Americans throw division of Germans 

back across the Marne in counter-attack. 
July 18-August 4, Second Battle of the Marne. French and Americans drive 

back Germans. 
July 19, Sinking of United States cruiser San Diego off Fire Island by mine 

laid by German submarine. 
July 27, American troops arrive on Italian front. 
July 31-August 1, Wire systems in United States put under Government 

control. 
August 5, American troops land at Vladivostok in Eastern Siberia. 
August 8, Beginning of Great British offensive. 



DATES AND EVENTS OF THE WORLD WAR 467 

September 3, United States recognizes the Czecho-Slovak Government. 
September 12-13, Americans take St. Mihiel salient. 
September 16, President Wilson rejects Austrian peace- proposals. 
September 26, Americans begin great offensive in the valley of the Meuse 

River. 
.September 30, Bulgaria withdraws from the war. 
October 4, Correspondence begins with German Government, wliidi leads 

through an exchange of notes up to October 23, in rejection of Germany's 

proposals as being unsatisfactory. 
October 30, Turkey granted armistice. 
November 3, Austria granted armistice. 
November 5, President Wilson notifies Germany that General Foch is 

authorized by the United States and the Allies to communicate terms 

of armistice. 
November 7, American First Army begins offensive north of Verdun. 
November 7, Americans take Sedan. 
November 9, British take Mauberge. 
November 9, General Foch receives German envoys. Abdication of the 

Kaiser. Revolution in Berlin. 
November 10, Flight of the German Emperor to Holland. British arrive 

at Mons. 
November 11, Armistice terms signed by Germany. 



APPENDIX A 

Bibliographical Notes 

Throughout the text from time to time references have been 
made to the work of special writers on sundry events and topics. 
There is appended herewith a bibliography for reference purposes. 

It is practically impossible to differentiate between volumes 
in the order of their excellence or special features. A student 
may sometimes be persuaded to read, in their entirety, the lighter 
publications; at other times the most comprehensive works are 
useful for reference when some special subject attracts the at- 
tention of student or class. 

As a boy, the author of the foregoing pages thoroughly enjoyed 
reading various biographies and historical novels. He read and 
reread a now obsolete and ponderous history of the United States 
by Goodrich, but in general such a work as this is not to be 
recommended to youthful attention. In particular, he would 
like to commend many interesting volumes, but personal selection 
involves discrimination ; and, on any subject, the best work of to- 
da}^ may be superseded by something still better to-morrow. The 
author believes that matter of selection in reading and study out- 
side of the text should be left largely to the teacher in accordance 
with the special needs of the class or the occasion. 

Personally, the author has found most useful the history of the 
United States in ten volumes by Wiley and Rines, chiefly because 
of the publication therein of a great number of original docu- 
ments. Greater entertainment in reading may sometimes be had 
from works prepared by a type of writer known as the '' occa- 
sional" historian. Sometimes these workers are able to throw 
remarkable new lights on old subjects. In other cases, the side- 
lights they offer are of very great value and lead to new inter- 
pretations, if not new perspective and proportion in the treat- 
ment of various subjects. To the mind of the author, also, a 
number of books long recognized as ''standard" are now of 
doubtful value, if not a positive detriment to an understanding 
468 



BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTES 469 

of some subjects. On the other hand, these books may not be 
discarded in any approximately complete bibliography because 
they contain much that is of interest and value! 

Reference Volumes for Chapters I, II, and III, Covering the 
Period on Discovery, Exploration, and Early Settlement 

Avery: History of the United States (seven volumes, uncom- 
pleted). 

Fiske : Discovery of America; Old Virginia and Her Neighbors. 

Bourne : Spain and America. 

Winsor : Narrative and Critical History of America. 

Wiley and Rines : The United States. 

Tyler : England and America. 

Fronde : English Seamen in the Sixteenth Century. 

Brown : The Genesis of the United States; The First Republic in 
America; English Polities in Early Virginia History. 

Cheyney : European Background of American History. 

Channing: History of the United States. 

Markham : Life of Christopher Columbus. 

Parkman: Pioneers of France in the New World; La Salle and 
the Discovery of the Great West. 

Farrand : Basis of American History. 

Andrews: A Heritage of Freedom; The Birth of America, a Play. 

Gayley : Shakespeare and the Founders of Liberty in America. 

Browne: George and Cecilius Calvert, Barons Baltimore. 

McCrady: History of South Carolina under the Proprietary 
Government. 

Wertenbaker : Virginia Under the Stuarts. 

Eg'gleston : Beginners of a Nation. 

Hart: The American Nation. 

Wilson : History of the American People. 

Reference Volumes for Chapters IV and V on Colonial 
Expansion, Life, and Customs 

Special chapters in the general histories given above, such as 
those of Avery, Channing, Hart, Wilson, etc. 



470 APPENDIX A 

Ford : The Scotch-Irish in America. 

Bruce : Economic History of Virginia in the Seventeenth Century. 

Weeden : Economic and Social History of New England. 

Thwaites : France in America. 

Fiske : New France and New England. 

Parkman : Pioneers of France in the New Wm'ld; Montcalm and 

Wolfe. 
Greene : Provincial America. 
Earle : Customs and Fashions in Old Neiv England; Home Life 

in Colonial Days. 
Fisher: Men, Women, and Manners in Colonial Times. 
Standard : Colonial Virginia. 

Reference Volumes for Chapters VI and VII on Political 

Controversy with the Mother Country and the 

American Revolution 

General Histories as given above, and the Biographies of 
Colonial Leaders, 

Beer : Btitish Colonial Policy. 

Fiske : The American Revolution. 

Roosevelt : The Winning of the West. 

Bruce : Daniel Boone and the Wilderness Road. 

Van Tyne : American Revolution. 

Carrington : Battles of the American Revolution. 

Morgan : The True Lafayette. 

Maclay : History of the Navy. 

Andrews : A Heritage of Freedom. 

Trevelyan: American Revolution. 

Reference Volumes for Chapters VIII and IX on From Con- 
federation TO Federal Union and the Federalist Period 

General Histories as given above and Biographies of the 
Framers of the Constitution and their associates. 

Fiske : Critical Period. 

McLaughlin: The Confederation and the Constitution. ' 

McMaster : History of the People of the United States. 



BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTES 471 

Schouler : History of the United States. 

Farrand : The Framing of the Constitution; The Federalist, 

Bassett: The Federalist System. 

Ford : American Politics. 

Reference Volumes for Chapters X and XI on Era of Jef- 

FERSONIAN DEMOCRACY AND THE JaCKSONIAN EpOCH 

General Histories as given above, and Biographies of Political 
Leaders, Messages and Papers of the Presidents. 
Roosevelt : Naval War of 1812. 
Channing : Jeffersoman System. 
Babcock : Rise of American Nationality. 
Mahan : War of 1812. 
Foster: A Century of American Biploniacy. 

Reference Volumes for Chapters XII and XIII on Terri- 
torial Expansion and the Balance of Power and 
Economic and Social Review 

General Histories given above and Biographies of Political 
Leaders. 

Turner : Rise of the New West. 

Munford: Virginia's Attitude Towards Slavery and Secession. 

Taussig : Tariff History of the United States. 

Kettell : Southern Wealth and Northern Profits. 

Wilson : Division and Reunion. 

Garrison : Westward Extension. 

Reeves : American Diplomacy under Tyler and Polk, 

Smith (Justin H.) : Annexation of Texas. 

Moore : American Diplomacy. 

Bogart : Economic History of the United States. 

Reference Volumes for Chapter XIV on Division and 

Reunion 

General Histories given above and Biographies of Political and 
Military Leaders. 
Rhodes : History of the United States; 1850-1877. 



472 APPENDIX A 

Herbert: The Abolition Crusade and Its Consequences. 

Hart: Slavery and Abolition. 

Munford : Virginia's Attitude Towards Slavery and Secession. 

Wilson : John Brow7i, A Critique. 

Andrews : The Women of the South in War Times. 

Chadwick : Causes of the Civil War. 

Ropes : Story of the Civil War. 

Welles : Diary of 

Fleming : The Kiv Klux Klan. 

Adams : Studies Military and Diplomatic. 

Wilson : Division and Reunion. 

Bryce : The American Commonwealth. 

Dunning: Essays on Civil War and Reconstruction. 

Reference Volumes for Chapter XV on the Story of 

Our Own Times 

Dewey: National Problems. - 

Marburg : The League of Nations. 

Taussig : Tariff History of the United States. 

Foster: Century of American Diplomacy; American Diplomacy 
in the Orient. 

Coman : Industrial History of the United States. 

Dunning: The British Empire and the United States. 

Latane: America as a World Power; From Isolation to Leader- 
ship; The United States and Latin America. 

Chadwick : The Spanish-American War. 

Roosevelt : The Rough Riders. 

Willoughby : Territories and Dependencies of the United States. 

Paxon: The New Nation. 

Ogg : National Progress. 

Beer : The English-speaking Peoples. 

Hart and Lovejoy : Handbook of the War for Public Speakers. 

Beck : The Evidence in the Case. 

Simonds : History of the World War. 

Woodrow Wilson : Addresses of. 

Robinson and West : Foreign Policy of Woodrow Wilson. 

Bassett : The Lost Fruits of Waterloo. 



I 



BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTES 473 

Kahn : The Poison Growth of Prtissiunism; Right Above Race. 

Powers : The Great Peace. 

Clarke : American Women in the World War. 

Davis : The Roots of the War. 

Current History, published under auspices of tlie New York 

Times. 
War Reviews in Review of Reviews, The World^s Work, Literary 

Digest, etc. 
Dillon : TJie IrOside Story of the Peace Conference. 
Anthony-Harper : History of Woman Suffrage. 
Abbott : Women in Industry. 
Guliek: The American- Japanese Prohlemr. 
Millis : The Japanese Problem, in the United States. 
Dodd : Woodroiv Wilson and His Work. 
Hayes : A Brief History of the Great War. 
Haworth : The United States in Our Own Times. 



APPENDIX B 

The Declaration op Independence in Congress, July 4, 1776 
A declaration by the representatives of the united states 

OF AMERICA, IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED 

When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary 
for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected 
them with another, and to assume, among- the powers of the earth, 
the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of 
nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of 
mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel 
them to the separation. 

We hold these truths to be self-evident : that all men are cre- 
ated equal ; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain 
unalienable rights ; that among these are life, liberty, and the pur- 
suit of happiness. That, to secure these rights, governments are 
instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent 
of the governed that, w^henever any form of government becomes 
destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to 
abolish it, and to institute a new government, laying its foundation 
on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to 
them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. 
Prudence, indeed, Avill dictate that governments long established 
should not be changed for light and transient causes and, accord- 
ingly, all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed 
to suffer, w^hile evils are sutferable, than to right themselves by 
abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a 
long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the 
same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute des- 
potism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such govern- 
ment, and to provide new guards for their future securit}^ Such 
has been the patient sufferance of these colonies, and such is now 
the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems 
of government. The history of the present king of Great Britain is 
474 



THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 475 

a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct 
object the establishment of an absolute tj^ranny over these States. 
To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world : 

He has refused his assent to laws the most wholesome and 
necessary for the public good. 

He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and 
pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his 
assent should be obtained ; and, when so suspended, he has utterly 
neglected to attend to them. 

He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of 
large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the 
right of representation in the legislature ; a right inestimable to 
them, and formidable to tyrants only. 

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, 
uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public 
records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance 
with his measures. 

He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for op- 
posing, with manly firmness, his invasions on the rights of 
the people. 

He has refused, for a long time, after such dissolutions, to 
cause others to be elected; whereby the legislative powers, inca- 
pable of annihilation, have returned to the people at large for 
their exercise ; the State remaining, in the meantime, exposed 
to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convul- 
sions within. 

He has endeavored to prevent the population of these States ; 
for that purpose, obstructing the laws for naturalization of for- 
eigners ; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration 
hither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands. 

He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing 
his assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers. 

He has made judges dependent on his will alone, for the tenure 
of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries. 

He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither 
swarms of officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance. 

He has kept among us, in times of pence, standing anuies 
without the consent of our legislature. 



476 APPENDIX B 

He has affected to render the military independent of, and 
superior to, the civil power. 

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction 
foreign to our constitution, aud unacknowledged by our laws ; 
giving his assent to their acts of pretended legislation : 

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us i 

For protecting* them, by mock trial, from punishment for 
any murders which they should commit on the inhabitants of 
these States : 

For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world : 

For imposing taxes on us without our consent : 

For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury : 

For transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended 
offences : 

For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neigh- 
boring province, establishing therein an arbitrarj' government, 
and enlarging its boundaries, so as to render it at once an example 
and fit instrument for iiitroducing the same absolute rule into 
these colonies : 

For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable 
laws, and altering, fundamentally, the forms of our governments : 

For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves 
invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever. 

He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of his 
protection and waging war against us. 

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, l)iii'iit oiic 
towns, and destroyed the lives of our people. 

He is, at this time, transporting large armies of foreign mer- 
cenaries to complete the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, 
already begun, with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely' 
paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the 
head of a civilized nation. 

He has constrained our fellow-citizens, taken captive on the 
high seas, to bear arms against their country, to become the 
executioners of their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves 
by their hands. 

He has excited domestic insurrection amongst us, and has 
endeavored to bring on the inhabitaiits of onr frontiers the merci- 



THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 477 

less Indian savages, whose knomi rule of warfare is an undistin- 
guished destruction of all ages, sexes, and conditions. 

In ever}- stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for 
redress, in the most humble terms; our repeated petitions have 
been answered only by repeated injury. A prince whose character 
is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit 
to be the ruler of a free people. 

Nor have we been wanting in attention to our British brethren. 
AVe have warned them, from time to time, of attempts by their 
legislatures to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We. 
have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and 
settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and 
magnanimity, and we have conjured them, by the ties of our 
common kindred, to disavow these usurpations, which would 
inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They, 
too, have been deaf to the voice of justice and consanguinity. 
We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity which denounces 
our separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, 
enemies in war, in peace friends. 

We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of 
America, in general Congress assembled, appealing to the Supreme 
Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the 
name and by the authority of the good people of these colonies, 
solemnly publish and declare. That these United Colonies are, 
and of right ought to be, free and independent States; that they 
are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown, and that 
all political connection between them and the State of Great 
Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved ; and that, as free and 
independent States, they have full power to levy Avar, conclude 
peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other 
acts and things which independent States may of right do. And, 
for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the 
protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other 
our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor. 

John Hancock. 

New Hampshire. — Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, 
Matthew Thornton. 



478 APPENDIX B 

Massachusetts Bay. — Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert 
Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry. 

Rhode Island. — Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery. 

Connecticut. — Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, Wil- 
liam WiLiiiAMS, Oliver Wolcott. 

New York. — ^William Floyd, Phiiji- Ijivingst(>n, P'rancis 
Lewis, Lewis Morris. 

New Jersey. — ^Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, 
Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark. 

Pennsylvania. — ^Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin 
Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, 
George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross. 

Delaware. — Cesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean. 

Maryland. — Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, 
Charles Carroll, of Carrollton. 

Virginia. — George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas 
Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Francis 
LiGHTFOOT Lee, Carter Braxton. 

North Carolina. — William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John 
Penn. 

South Carolina. — Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyw^ard, 
Thomas Lynch, Arthur Middleton. 

Georgia. — Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton. 



APPENDIX C 

The Constitution of the United States. 

We, the people of the United KStates, in order to form a more 
perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, pro^ 
vide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and 
secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do 
ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States 
of America. 

Article I 

Section I. All legislative powers herein granted shall be 
vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of 
a Senate and House of Representatives. 

Section II. 1. The House of Representatives shall be com- 
posed of members chosen every second year by the people of the 
several States, and the electors in each State shall have the quali- 
fications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the 
State Legislature. 

2. No person shall be a Representiative who shall not have 
attained to the age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a 
citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be 
an inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen. 

3. Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among 
the several States which may be included within this Union, 
according to their respective numbers, which shall be determined 
by adding to the whole number of free persons, including those 
bound to service for a term of years, and excluding Indians not 
taxed, three-fifths of all other persons. The actual enumeration 
shall be made within three years after the first meeting of the 
Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent tenn 
of ten years, in such a manner as they shall by law direct. The 
number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty 
thousand, but each State shall have at least one Representative ; 
and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of New 
Hampshire shall be entitled to choose 3 ; Massachusetts, 8 ; Rhode 

479 



480 APPENDIX C 

Island and Providence Plantations, 1 ; Connectient, 5 ; New 
York, 6; New Jersey, 4; Pennsylvania, 8; Delaware, 1; Mary- 
land, 6 ; Virginia, 10 ; North Carolina, 5 ; South Carolina, 5, and 
Georgia, 3/ 

4. When vacancies happen in the representation from any 
State, the executive authority thereof shall issue writs of election 
to fill such vacancies. 

5. The House of Representatives shall choose their Speaker 
and other officers ; and shall have the sole power of impeachment. 

Section III. 1. The Senate of the United States shall be 
composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legis- 
lature thereof, for six years ; and each Senator shall have one vote. 

2. Immediately after they shall be assembled in consequence 
of the first election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into 
three classes. The seats of the Senators of the first class shall be 
vacated at the expiration of the second year, of the second class 
at the expiration of the fourth year, and of the third class at the 
expiration of the sixth year, so that one-third ma^^ be chosen every 
second year ; and if vacancies happen by resignation or otherwise, 
during the recess of the Legislature of any State, the Executive 
thereof may make temporary appointments until the next meeting 
of the Legislature, which shall then fill such vacancies. 

3. No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained 
to the age of thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the 
United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant 
of that State for which he shall be chosen. 

4. The Vice-President of the United States shall be President 
of the Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be equally 
divided. 

5. The Senate shall choose their other officers, and also a Presi- 
dent pro tempore in the absence of the Vice-President, or when he 
shall exercise the office of President of the United States. 

6. The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeach- 
ments. When sitting for that purpose they shall be on oath or 
affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried the 
Chief Justice shall preside ; and no person shall be convicted with- 
out the concurrence of two-thirds of the members present. 

^ See article xiv. Amendments. 



THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 481 

7. Judgment in cases of impeaehment shall not extend further 
than to removal from office, and disqualification to hold and 
enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States ; 
but the party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to 
indictment, trial, judgment, and punishment, according to law. 

Section TV. 1. The times, places, and manner of holding 
elections for Senators and Representatives shall be prescribed in 
each State by the Legislature thereof ; but the Congress may at 
any time by law make or alter such regulations, except as to the 
places of choosing Senators. 

2. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and 
such meeting shall be on the first Monday of December, unless 
they shall by law appoint a different day. 

Section V. 1. Each House shall be the judge of the elections, 
returns, and qualifications of its own members, and a majority of 
each shall constitute a quorum to do business ; but a smaller num- 
ber may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to com- 
pel the attendance of absent members in such manner and under 
such penalties as each House may provide. 

2. Each House may determine the rules of its proceedings, 
punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the con- 
currence of two-thirds, expel a member. 

3. Each House shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and 
from time to time publish the same, excepting such parts as may 
in their judgment require secrecy ; and the yeas and nays of the 
members of either House on any question shall, at the desire of 
one-fifth of those present, be entered on the journal. 

4. Neither House, during the session of Congress, shall, without 
the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to 
any other place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting. 
Section VI. 1. The Senators and Eepresentatives shall re- 
ceive a compensation for their services, to be ascertained by law, 
and paid out of the Treasury of the United States. They shall in 
all cases, except treason, felony, and breach of the peace, be privi- 
leged from arrest during their attendance at the session of their 
respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same ; 
and for any speech or debate in either House they shall not be 
questioned in any other place. 
31 



482 APPENDIX C 

2. No Senator or Representative shall, during the time for 
which he was elected, be appointed to any civil office under the 
authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or 
the emoluments whereof shall have been increased during such 
time ; and no person holding any office under the United States 
shall be a member of either House during his continuance 
in office. 

Section VII. 1. All bills for raising revenue shall originate 
in the House of Representatives ; but the Senate may propose or 
concur with amendments as on other bills. 

2. Every bill which shall have passed the House of Representa- 
tives and the Senate shall, before it becomes a law, be presented 
to the President of the United States ; if he approve he shall sign 
it, but if not he shall return it with his objections, to that House 
in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the objections at 
large on their journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If, after such 
reconsideration, two-thirds of that House shall agree to pass the 
bill, it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the other 
House, by w^hich it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved 
by two-thirds of that House it shall become a law. But in all such 
cases the votes of both Houses shall be determined by yeas and 
nays, and the names of the persons voting for and against the bill 
shall be entered on the journal of each House respectively. If any 
bill shall not be returned by the President withiii ten days (Sun- 
days excepted) after it shall be presented to him, the same shall 
be a law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress 
by their adjournment prevent its return, in which case it shall not 
be a law. 

3. Every order, resolution, or vote, to which the concurrence 
of the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary 
(except on a question of adjournment), shall be presented to the 
President of the United States; and before the same shall take 
effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, 
shall be repassed by two-thirds of the Senate and House of Repre- 
sentatives, according to the rules and limitations prescribed in 
the case of a bill. 

Section VIII. The Congress shall have power: 

1. To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, to 



THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 483 

pay the debts and provide for the common defence and general 
welfare of the United States ; but all duties, imposts, and excises 
shall be uniform throughout the United States ; 

2. To borrow money on the credit of the United States ; 

3. To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the 
several States, and with the Indian tribes ; 

4. To establish a uniform rule of naturalization, and uin'form 
laws on the subject of bankrux^tcies throughout the United States ; 

5. To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign 
coin, and fix the standard of weights and measures ; 

6. To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the secu- 
rities and current coin of the United States : 

7. To establish post-offices and post-roads; 

8. To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by 
securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive 
rights to their respective ^mtings and discoveries ; 

9. To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court : 

10. To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on 
the high seas, and offences against the law of nations ; 

11. To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and 
make rules concerning captures on land and water ; 

12. To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of 
money to that use shall be for a longer term than two years : 

13. To provide and maintain a navA^; 

14. To make rules for the government and regulation of the 
land and naval forces ; 

15. To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws 
of the Union, to suppress insurrections, and repel invasions ; 

16. To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the 
militia, and for governing such part of them as may be emploj'cd 
in the service of the United States, reserving to the States 
respectively the appointment of the officers, and the authority 
of training the militia according to the discipline prescribed 
by Congress ; 

17. To exercise exclusive legislation, in all cases whatsoever, 
over such district (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by 
cession of particular States, and the acceptance of Congress, be- 
come the seat of the Government of the United States, and to 



484 APPENDIX C 

exercise like authority over all places purchased by the consent of 
the Legislature of the State in which the same shall be, for the 
erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dock-yards, and other need- 
ful buildings ; and 

18. To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for 
carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers 
vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United 
States, or in any department or officer therecf. 

Section IX. 1. The migration or importation of such persons 
as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, 
shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the year one 
thousand eight hundred and eight, but a tax or duty may be im- 
posed on such importation, hot exceeding ten dollars for each 
person. 

2. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be 
suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public 
safety may require it. 

3. No bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed. 

4. No capitation or other direct tax shall be laid, unless in 
proportion to the census or enumeration hereinbefore directed to 
be taken. 

5. No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from 
any State. 

6. No preference shall be given by any regulation of commerce 
or revenue to the ports of one State over those of another; nor 
shall vessels bound to or from one State be obliged to enter, clear, 
or pay duties in another. 

7. No money shall be drawn from the Treasury but in conse- 
quence of appropriations made by law ; and a regular statement 
and account of the receipts and expenditures of all public money 
shall be published from time to time. 

8. No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States ; 
and no person holding any office of profit or trust under them 
shall, without the consent of the Congress, accept of any present, 
emolument, office, or title of any kind whatever, from any king, 
prince, or foreign state. 

Section X. 1. No State shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or 
confederation-; grant letters of marque and reprisal ; coin money ; 



THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 485 

emit bills of credit; make anything but gold and silver coin a 
tender in payment of debts; pass any bill of attainder, ex post 
facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts, or grant 
any title of nobility. 

2. No State shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay 
any impost or duties on imports or exports, except what may be 
absolutely necessary for executing its inspection laws; and the 
net produce of all duties and imposts, laid by any State on im- 
ports or exports, shall be for the use of the Treasury- of the United 
States; and all such laws shall be subject to the revision and 
control of the Congress. 

3. No State shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any 
duty of tonnage, keep troops or ships of war in time of peace, 
enter into any agreement or compact with another State, or with a 
foreign power, or engage in war, unless actually invaded, or in 
such imminent danger as will not admit of delay. 

Article II 

Section I. 1. The executive power shall be vested in a Presi- 
dent of the United States of America. He shall hold his office 
during the term of four years, and, together with the Vice-Presi- 
dent chosen for the same term, be elected as follows : 

2. Each State shall appoint, in such manner as the Legislature 
thereof may direct, a number of electors, equal to the Avhole num- 
ber of Senators and Representatives to which the State maj' be 
entitled in the Congress, but no Senator or Representative, or 
person holding an office of trust or profit under the United States 
shall be appointed an elector. 

3. [The electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote 
by ballot for two persons, of whom one at least shall not be an 
inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And they shall 
make a list of all the persons voted for, and of the number of votes 
for each, which list they shall sign and certify, and transmit 
sealed to the seat of the Government of the United States, directed 
to the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, 
in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open 
all the certificates, and the votes shall then be counted. The person 



486 APPENDIX C 

having the greatest number of votes shall be the President, if such 
number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed ; 
and if there be more than one who have such majority, and have 
an equal number of votes, then the House of Representatives shall 
immediately choose by ballot one of them for President ; and if no 
person have a majority, then from the five highest on the list the 
said House shall in like manner choose the President. But in 
choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by States, the 
representation from each State having one vote ; a quorum for 
this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds 
of the States, and a majority of all the States shall be necessary to 
a choice. In every case, after the choice of the President, the 
person having the greatest number of votes of the electors shall 
be the Vice-President. But if there should remain two or more 
who have equal votes, the Senate shall choose from them by ballot 
the Vice-President.]^ 

4. The Congress ma}' determine the time of choosing the elec- 
tors, and the day on which they shall give their votes ; which daj^ 
shall be the same throughout the United States. 

5. No person except a natural-born citizen, or a citizen of the 
United States at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, 
shall be eligible to the office of President ; neither shall any person 
be eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the age of 
thirty-five years, and been fourteen years a resident Avithin the 
United States. 

6. In case of the removal of the President from office, or of his 
death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties 
of the said office, the same shall devolve on the Vice-President, 
and the Congress may by law provide for the case of removal, 
death, resignation, or inability, both of the President and Vice- 
President, declaring what officer shall then act as President, and 
such officer shall act accordinglv, until the disabilitv be removed, 
or a President shall be elected. 

7. The President shall, at stated times, receive for his services 
a compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished 
during the period for which he shall have been elected, and he 

* This clause is suspended by Article XIT, Amendments. 



THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 487 

shall nut receive within that period any other emolument frcnn the 
United States^ or any of them. 

8. Before he enter on the execution of his office he shall take 
the following oath or affirmation: ''I do solemnly swear (or 
affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the 
United States, and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, pro- 
tect and defend the Constitution of the United States. ' ' 

Section II. 1. The President shall be Commander-in-Chief 
of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the militia of 
the several States when called into the actual service of the United 
States ; he may require the opinion, in writing", of the principal 
officer in each of the executive departments, upon any subject 
relating to the duties of their respective offices, and he shall have 
power to grant reprieves and pardons for offences against the 
United States, except in cases of impeachment. 

2. He shall have power, by and w^th the advice and consent 
of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two-thirds of the Sen- 
ators present concur; and he shall nominate, and, b}' and with 
the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint ambassadors, 
other public ministers and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, 
and all other officers of the United States whose appointments are 
not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established 
b}^ law; but the Congress may by law vest the appointment of 
such inferior officers as they think proper in the President alone, 
in the courts of law, or in the heads of departments. 

3. The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that 
may happen during the recess of the Senate, by granting com- 
missions which shall expire at the end of their next session. 

Section III. He shall from time to time give to the Congress 
information of the state of the Union, and recommend to their 
consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expe- 
dient ; he may, on extraordinary occasions, convene both Houses, 
or either of them, and, in case of disagreement between them with 
respect to the time of adjournment, he may adjourn them to such 
time as he shall think proper; he shall receive ambassadors and 
other public ministers; he shall take care that the laws be faith- 
fully executed, and shall commission all the officers of the 
United States. 



488 APPENDIX C 

Section IV. The President, Vice-President, and all civil 
officers of the United States, shall be removed from office on im- 
peachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high 
crimes and misdemeanors. 

Article III 

Section I. The judicial power of the United States shall be 
vested in one Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as the 
Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The judges, 
both of the supreme and inferior courts, shall hold their offices 
during good behavior, and shall, at stated times, receive for their 
services a compensation, which shall not be diminished during 
their continuance in office. 

Section II. 1. The judicial power shall extend to all cases 
in law and equity arising under this Constitution, the laws of the 
United States, and treaties made, or which shall be made, under 
their authority; to all cases affecting ambassadors, other public 
ministers, and consuls; to all cases of admiralty and maritime 
jurisdiction ; to controversies to which the United States shall be a 
party; to controversies between two or more States; between a 
State and citizens of another State ; between citizens of different 
States ; between citizens of the same State claiming lands under 
grants of different States, and between a State, or the citizens 
thereof, aiid foreign States, citizens, or subjects. 

2. In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers, 
and consuls, and those in which a State shall be party, the 
Supreme Court shall have original jurisdiction. In all other cases 
before mentioned the Supreme Court shall have appellate juris- 
diction, both as to law and fact, with such exceptions, and under 
such regulations, as the Congress shall make. 

3. The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall 
be by jury ; and such trial shall be held in the State where the said 
crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed 
within any State, the trial shall be at such place or places as the 
Congress may by law have directed. 

Section III. 1. Treason against the United States shall con- 
sist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their ene- 



THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 489 

lilies, giving them aid and comfort. No 2)erson shall be convicted 
of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same 
overt act, or on confession in open, court. 

2. The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment 
of treason, but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of 
blood, or forfeiture, except during the life of the person attainted. 

Article IV 

Section I. Full faith and credit shall be given in each State 
to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other 
State. And the Congress may by general laws prescribe the man- 
ner in which such acts, records, and proceedings shall be proved, 
and the effect thereof. 

Section II. 1. The citizens of each State shall be entitled to 
all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several States. 

2. A person charged in any State with treason, felon}-, or 
other crime, who shall flee from justice, and be found in another 
State, shall, on demand of the executive authority of the State 
from w-hich he fled, be delivered up to be removed to the State 
having jurisdiction of the crime. 

3. No person held to service or labor in one State, under the 
laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any 
law or regulation therein, be discharged from such service or 
labor, but shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom 
such service or labor may be due. 

Section III. 1. New States may be admitted by the Congress 
into this Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected 
within the jurisdiction of any other State, nor any State be 
formed by the junction of two or more States, or parts of States, 
without the consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned, as 
well as of the Congress. 

2. The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all 
needful rules and regulations respecting the territory or other 
property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this 
Constitution shall be so construed as to prejudice any claims of 
the United States, or of any particular State. 

Section IV. The United States shall guarantee to every 



490 APPENDIX C 

State in this Union a republican form of government, and shall 
protect each of them against invasion ; and, on application of the 
Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be 
convened), against domestic violence. 

Article V 

The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both Houses shall deem 
it necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or 
on the application of the Legislatures of two-thirds of the several 
States, shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which, 
in either case, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of 
this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three- 
fourths of the several States, or by conventions in three-fourths 
thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification ma}'^ be pro- 
posed by the Congress : Provided, that no amencbnent which may 
he made prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight 
shall in any manner affect the first and fourth clauses of the ninth 
section of the first article ; and that no State, withovit its consent, 
shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate. 

Article VI 

1. All debts contracted and engagements entered into before 
the adoption of this Constitution shall be as valid against the 
United States under this Constitution as under the Confederation. 

2. This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which 
shall be made in pursuance thereof, and all treaties made, or 
which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, 
shall be the supreme law of the land ; and the judges in every State 
shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of 
any State to the contrary notwithstanding. 

3. The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and 
the members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive 
and judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several 
States, shall be bound by oath or affirmation to support this Con- 
stitution ; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualifi- 
cation to any office or public trust under the United States. 



THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 491 



Article VII 

The ratification of the Conventions of nine States shall be 
sufficient for the establishment of this Constitution between the 
States so ratifying the same. 

Done in Convention, by the unanimous consent of the States 
present, the seventeenth day of September, in the year of our 
Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven, and of the 
Independence of the United States of America the twelfth. Tu 
witness whereof, we have hereunto subscribed our names. 

George AYashixgton, 
President^ and Deputy from Virginia. 



NEW HAMPSHIRE 
John Langdon, 
Nicholas Gilman. 

MASSACHUSETTS 
Nathaniel Gorham, 
RuFus King. 

CONNECTICUT 
AYilliam Samuel Johnson, 
Roger Sherman. 

NEW YORK 
Alexander Hamilton. 

NEW JERSEY 
William Livingston. 
David Brearley, 
William Paterson, 
Jonathan Dayton. 

PENNSYLVANIA 
Benjamin Franklin, 
Thomas Mifflin, 
Robert Morris, 
George Clymer, 
Thomas Fitzsimons, 
Jared Ingersoll, 
James Wilson, 
Gouverneur Morris. 



DELAWARE 

George Reed, 
Gunning Bedford, 
John Dickinson, 
Richard Bassett, 
Jacob Broom. 

MARYLAND 
James McHenry, 
Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer, 
Daniel Carroll. 

VIRGINIA 
John Blair, 
James Madison. 

NORTH CAROLINA 
William Blount, 
Richard Dobbs Spaight. 
Hugh AYilliamson. 

SOUTH CAROLINA 
John Rutledge, 
Charles C. Pinckney, 
Charles Pinckney, 
Pierce Butler. 

GEORCilA 
William Few, 
Abraham Baldwin. 



Attest: William Jackson, Secretanj. 



AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION 
Article I 

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of 
religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ; or abridging the 
freedom of speech or of the press ; or the right of the people 
peaceably to assemble, and to petition the ■ government for a 
redress of grievances. 

Article II 

A well regnlated militia being necessary to the security of a 
free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall 
not be infringed. 

Article III 

No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house, 
without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a 
manner prescribed by law. 

Article IV 

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, 
papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, 
shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue but upon prob- 
able cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly 
describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to 
be seized. 

Article Y 

No person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise 
infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand 
jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the 
militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger ; nor 
shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in 
jeopardy of life or limb ; nor shall be compelled in any criminal 
492 



S 



AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION 493 

case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, lib- 
erty, or property, without due process of law ;, nor shall private 
property be taken for public use without just compensation. 

Article VI 

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right 
to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and 
district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which dis- 
trict shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be 
informed of the nature and cause of the accusation ; to be con- 
fronted with the mtnesses against him; to have compulsory 
process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the 
assistance of counsel for his defence. 

Article VII 

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall 
exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, 
and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any 
court of the United States, than according to the rules of the 
common law. 

Article VIII 

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines im- 
posed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. 

Article IX 

The enumeration in the ConvStitution of certain rights shall not 
be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. 

Article X 

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Consti- 
tution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the 
States respectively, or to the people. 



V 



494 AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION 

Article XI 

The judicial power of the United States shall not be construed 
to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted 
against one of the United States by citizens of another State, or 
by citizens or subjects of any foreign State. 

Article X 1 1 

The electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by 
ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, 
shall not be an inhabitant of the same State with themselves ; they 
shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and 
in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President ; and they 
shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President and 
of all persons voted for as Vice-President, and of the number of 
votes for each, which list they shall sign and certify, and transmit 
sealed to the seat of the Government of the United States, directed 
to the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, 
in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open 
all the certificates, and the votes shall then be counted ; the person 
having the greatest number of votes for President shall be the 
President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of 
electors appointed, and if no person have such majority, then from 
the persons having the hig*hest numbers, not exceeding three on 
the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representa- 
tives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in 
choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by States, the 
representation from each State having one vote ; a quorum for 
this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds 
of the States, and a majority of all the States shall be necessary 
to a choice. And if the House of Representatives shall not choose 
a President, whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, 
before the fourth day of March next following, then the Vice- 
President shall act as President, as in the case of the death or 
other constitutional disability of the President. The person having 
the greatest number of votes as Vice-President shall be the Vice- 
President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of 



AMENDMENTS TO THE C'ONSTITUTION 4\)'^ 

electors appointed; and if no person linvc a Jiiajority, then from 
the two highest numbers on the list the Senate shall choose the 
Vice-President; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two- 
thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a majority of the 
whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person 
constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligil)le 
to that of Vice-President of the United States. 

Article XIII 

1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a 
punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly 
convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place sub- 
ject to their jurisdiction. 

2. Congress shall have ])ower to enforce this article by appro- 
priate legislation. 

Article XIV 

1. All per-sons born or naturalized in the United States, and 
subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States 
and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or 
enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities 
of citizens of the United States ; nor shall any State deprive any 
person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law, 
nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection 
of the laws. 

2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several 
States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole 
number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. 
But Avhen the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors 
for President and Vice-President of the United States, Represent- 
atives in Congress, the executive and judicial officers of a State, 
or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the 
male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and 
citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for 
participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representa- 
tion therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number 
of such male citizens shall bear to the whole niunber of male 
citizens twenty-one years of age in such State. 



496 AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION 

3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, 
or elector of President and A^ice-President, or hold any office, 
civil or military, under the United States, or nnder any State, 
who, having previousl}^ taken an oath as a member of Congress, 
or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State 
Legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to 
support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged 
in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid and 
comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may, by a vote of 
two-thirds of each House, remove such disability. 

4. The validity of the pul)lic debt of the United States, author- 
ized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and 
bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall 
not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State 
shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of in- 
surrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for 
the loss or emancipation of any slave ; but all such debts, obliga- 
tions, and claims shall be held illegal and void. 

5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate 
legislation, the provisions of this article. 

Article XV 

1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not 
be denied or abridged b}^ the United States or by any State on 
account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. 

2. The Congress shall have power to enforce the provisions of 
this article by appropriate legislation. 

• Article XVI 

The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on 
incomes, from w^hatever source derived, without apportionment 
among the several States, and without regard to any census 
or enumeration. ' 

Article XVII 

The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two 
Senators from each State, elected by the peo])le thereof, for six 



AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION 497 

years ; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each 
State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most 
numerous branch of the State Legislatures. 

When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in 
the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs 
of election to fill such vacancies : Provided, that the Legislature 
of any State may empower the executive thereof to make tempo- 
rary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election 
as the Legislature may direct. 

[This Article replaces the provision in Article I, Section III, of 
the Constitution for the choosing of Senators by the Legislatures.] 

Article XVIII 

1. After one year from the ratification of this article the man- 
ufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, 
the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the 
United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof 
for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited. 

2. The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent 
power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. 

3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been 
ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures 
of the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within 
seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States 
b}^ the Congress. 

And, further, that it appears from official documents on file in 
this Department that the Amendment to the Constitution of the 
United States proposed as aforesaid has been ratified by the 
Legislatures of the States of Alabama, Arizona, California, Colo- 
rado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, 
Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mich- 
igan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Hamp- 
shire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, 
South Dakota, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, 
West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. 
32 



498 AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION 

Article XIX 
Ratification of the Constitution 

The Constitution was ratified by the thirteen original States' 
in the following order : 

Delaware, December 7, 1787 ; Pennsylvania, December 12, 
1787 ; New Jersey, December 18, 1787 ; Georgia, January 2, 1788 ; 
Connecticut, Januar^^ 9, 1788 ; Massachusetts, February 6, 1788 ; 
Maryland, April 28, 1788 ; South Carolina, May 23, 1788 ; New 
Hampshire, June 21, 1788 ; Virginia, June 25, 1788 ; New York, 
July 26, 1788 ; North Carolina, November 21, 1789 ; Rhode Island, 
May 29, 1790. 

Ratification of the Amendments 

I to X inclusive were declared in force December 15, 1791 ; 
XI was declared in force January 8, 1798 ; XII was declared in 
force September 25, 1804 ; XIII was proclaimed December 18, 
1865 ; XIV was proclaimed July 28, 1868 ; XV was proclaimed 
March 30, 1870 ; XVI was proclaimed February 25, 1913 ; XVII 
was proclaimed May 30, 1913 ; XVIII was proclaimed January 
30, 1919. 



APPENDIX D 



499 



APPENDIX D 

Tahle of States and Territories 



Name 



Origin of Namk 



^55 
h O 

a « 



&<5 
or 



Delaware 

Pennsylvania 

New Jersey 

Georgia 

Connecticut 

Alassachusetts 

Maryland 

South Carolina 

New Hampshire 

Virginia 

New York 

North Carolina 

Rhode Island 

Vermont 

Kentucky 

Tennessee 

Ohio 

Louisiana 

Indiana 

Mississippi 

Illinois 

Alabama 

Maine 

Missouri 

Arkansas 

Michigan 

Florida 

Texas 

Iowa 

Wisconsin 

California 

Minnesota 

Oregon 

Kansas 

West Virginia 

Nevada 

Nebraska 

Colorado 

North Dakota 

South Dakota 

Montana 

Washington 

Idaho 

Wyoming 

Utah 

Oklahoma 

New Mexico 

Arizona ; ■ 

District of Columbia 

Alaska 

Hawaii 



In honor of Lord Delaware .... 

Penn's woodland 

From the Island of Jersey 

In honor of George II 

Indian — long river 

Indian — at the great hill 

In honor of Henrietta Maria, 

wife of Charles I 

In honor of Charles II 

From Hampshire, England 

In honor of Queen Elizabeth. . 
In honor of the Duke of York. . 

In honor of Charles II 

Dutch — Rood (Red) Island, or, 

from the Isle of Rhodes 

French — green mountains 

Indian — probably hunting land. 

Indian — crooked river 

Indian — beautiful river 

In honor of Louis XIV 

From the word "Indian" 

Indian — great river • ■ 

From name of river and Indian 

confederacy 

Indian — here we rest 

The main land 

Indian — muddy river. 

Indian — after its main river. . . . 

Indian — great sea 

Spanish — flowery 

Indian — name of a tribe or 

confederacy 

Indian — meaning doubtful 

Indian — probably gathering 

waters 

Spanish — from an old romance . 

Indian — cloudy water 

Meaning doubtful 

Indian — meaning doubtful 

From Virginia 

Spanish— sno^y mountains. . . 

Indian — shallow water 

Spanish — red or ruddy 

Indian — the allies 

Indian — the allies 

Spanish — montana, a mountain. 
In honor of Washington. ...... 

Indian — gem of the mountains.. 

Indian — broad plains 

Indian — mountain home 

Indian — fine country 

From Mexico 

Meaning doubtful 

From Columbus 

Indian — great, or main land . . . . 
Given by the natives 



1787 
1787 
1787 
1788 
1788 
1788 

1788 
1788 
1788 
1788 
1788 
1789 

, 1790 
1791 
1792 
1796 
1803 
1812 
1816 
1817 

1818 
,1819 
,1820 
,1821 
,1836 
,1837 
, 1845 



. . . 1845 
. . . 1846 



. . 1848 
. . 1850 
. . 1858 
. . 1859 
. . 1861 
. . 1863 
. . 1864 
. . 1867 
. . 1876 
. . 1889 
. . 1889 
. . 1889 
. . 1889 
. . 1890 
. . 1890 
. . 1896 
. . 1907 
, ..1912 
...1912 



2,050 
45.215 

7,815 
59,475 

4,990 

8,315 

12,210 
30,570 
9,305 
42,450 
49,170 
52,250 

1,250 
9,565 
40,400 
42,050 
41,060 
48,720 
36,350 
40,810 

56,650 
52,250 
33,040 
69,415 
53,850 
58,915 
58,680 

265,780 
56,025 

56,040 

158,360 
83,365 
96,030 
82,080 
24,780 

110,700 
77,510 

103,925 
70,795 
77,650 

146,080 
69,180 
84,800 
97,890 
84,970 
70.430 

122,580 

113,020 
70 

577.390 
6,740 



202,322 
7,665,111 
2.537,167 
2.609,121 
1,114,756 
3,366,416 

1 ,295,346 
1,515,400 
430,572 
2,061,612 
9,113,279 
2,206,287 

542,610 
355,956 
2,289,905 
2,184,789 
4,767,121 
1,656.388 
2.700.876 
1,797.114 

5.638,591 
2,138,093 

742,371 
3,293,335 
1,574,449 
2.810,173 

751,139 

3,896,542 
2,224.771 

2,333,860 

2,377,549 

2,075,708 

672,765 

1,690,949 

1,221,119 

81,875 

1,192,214 

799,024 

577,056 

583,888 

376,053 

1,141,990 

325,594 

145,965 

373,351 

1,657,155 

327,301 

204.354 

331,069 

64,356 

191.909 



APPENDIX E 
THE AMERICAN'S CREED 

I BELIEVE IN THE UNITED StATES OF AMERICA AS A GOVERN- 
MENT OF THE PEOPLE^ BY THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE; WHOSE 
JUST POWERS ARE DERIVED FROM THE CONSENT OF THE GOVERNED ; A 
DEMOCRACY IN A REPUBLIC ; A SOVEREIGN NATION OF MANY SOV- 
EREIGN STATES; A PERFECT UNION, ONE AND INSEPARABLE; ESTAB- 
LISHED UPON THOSE PRINCIPLES OF FREEDOM, EQUALITY, JUSTICE, 
AND HUMANITY FOR WHICH AMERICAN PATRIOTS SACRIFICED THEIR 
LIVES AND FORTUNES. 

I THEREFORE BELIEVE IT IS MY DUTY TO MY COUNTRY TO LOVE IT ; 
TO SUPPORT ITS CONSTITUTION ; TO OBEY ITS LAWS ; TO RESPECT ITS 
FLAG ; AND TO DEFEND IT AGAINST ALL ENEMIES. 



500 



APPENDIX F 



501 



^ Oi Oi t*^ Cv to I— ' O O OC ^ OOl *k w to*— 






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3 - 



QCdO 

>-) CO 1 

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f» <^ (t) 

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2.fD cr 

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p to 



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p ►, Mp 
3 £ B2- 

P ^ S'i 

3 o o C 

P O ■-! --I 






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= q a. 



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3" £.» 

o :; c 

a 3 1 
3 31; 

P ?> (5 

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trt 3? 3; a 



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APPENDIX G 

THE COVENANT OF THE LEAGUE OP NATIONS 

The High Contracting Parties, 

In order to promote international cooperation and to achieve 
international peace and security 

by the acceptance of obligations not to resort to war, 

by the prescription of open, just and honorable relations 

between nations, 
by the firm establishment of the understandings of inter- 
national law as the actual rule of conduct among Govern- 
ments, and 
by the maintenance of justice and a scrupulous respect for 
all treaty obligations in the dealings of organized peoples 
with one another, 
Agree to this Covenant of the League of Nations. . 

Article 1 

The original Members of the League of Nations shall be those 
of the Signatories which are named in the Annex to this Covenant 
and also such of those other States named in the Annex as shall 
accede without reservation to this Covenant. Such accession 
shall be effected by a Declaration deposited with the Secretariat 
within two months of the coming into force of the Covenant. 
Notice thereof shall be sent to all other Members of the League. 

Any fully self-g'overning State, Dominion or Colony not 
named in the Annex may become a Member of the League if its 
admission is agreed to by two-thirds of the Assembly, provided 
that it shall give effective guarantees of its sincere intention to 
observe its international obligations, and shall accept such regu- 
lations as may be prescribed by the League in regard to its 
military, naval and air forces and armaments. 

Any Member of the League may, after two years' notice of 

its intention so to do, withdraw from the League, provided that 

all its international obligations and all its obligations under this 

Covenant shall have been fulfilled at the time of its withdrawal. 

502 



II 



THE COVENANT OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS 503 

Article 2 

The action of the League under this Covenant shall be effected 
through the instrumentality of an Assembly and of a Council, 
with a permanent Secretariat. 

Article 3 

The Assembly shall consist of Eepresentatives of the Members 
of the League. 

The Assembly shall meet at stated intervals and from time 
to time, as occasion may require, at the Seat of the League, or at 
such other place as may be decided upon. 

The Assembly may deal at its meetings with any matter 
within the sphere of action of the League or affecting the peace 
of the world. 

At meetings of the Assembly each Member of the League shall 
have one vote, and may have not more than three Representatives. 

Article 4 

The Council shall consist of Representatives of the Principal 
Allied and Associated Powers, together with Representatives of 
four other Members of the League. The four Members of the 
League shall be selected by the Assembly from time to time in 
its discretion. Until the appointment of the Representatives of 
the four Members of the League first selected by the Assembly, 
Representatives of Belgium, Brazil, Spain and Greece shall be 
members of the Council. 

With the approval of the majority of the Assembly, the 
Council may name additional Members of the League whose 
Representatives shall always be members of the Council; the 
Council with like approval may increase the number of IMembers 
of the League to be selected by the Assembly for representation 
on the Council. 

The Council shall meet from time to time as occasion may 
require, and at least once a year, at the Seat of the League, or 
at such other place as may be decided upon. 

The Council may deal at its meetings with any matter within 
the sphere of action of the Leagaie or affecting the peace of 
the world. 



504 APPENDIX G 

Any member of the League not represented on the Council 
shall be invited to send a Representative to sit as a member at 
any meeting of the Council during the consideration of matters 
specially affecting the interests of that Member of the League. 

At meetings of the Council, each Member of the League 
represented on the Council shall have one vote, and may have 
not more than one Representative. 

Article 5 

Except where otherwise expressly provided in this Covenant 
or by the terms of the present Treaty, decisions at any meeting 
of the Assembly or of the Council shall require the agreement 
of all the Members of the League represented at the meeting. 

All matters of procedure at meetings of the Assembly or of 
the Council, including the appointment of Committees to inves- 
tigate particular matters, shall be regulated by the Assembly or 
by the Council and may be decided by a majority of the Members 
of the League represented at the meeting. 

The first meeting of the Assembly and the first meeting of 
the Council shall be summoned by the President of the United 
States of America. 

Article 6 

The permanent Secretariat shall be established at the Seat 
of the League. The Secretariat shall comprise a Secretary Gren- 
eral and such secretaries and staff as may be required. 

The first Secretary General shall be the person named in the 
Annex; thereafter the Secretary General shall be appointed by 
the Council with the approval of the majority of the Assembly. 

The secretaries and staff of the Secretariat shall be appointed 
by the Secretary General with the approval of the Council. 

The Secretary General shall act in that capacity at all meet- 
ings of the Assembly and of the Council. 

The expenses of the Secretariat shall be borne by the 
Members of the League in accordance with the apportionment 
of the expenses of the International Bureau of the Universal 
Postal Union. 



THE COVENANT OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS 505 

Article 7 

The Seat of the League is established at Geneva. 

The Council may at any time decide that the Seat of the 
League shall be established elsewhere. 

All positions under or in connection with the League, includ- 
ing the Secretariat, shall be open equally to men and women. 

Kepresentatives of the Members of the League and officials 
of the League w^hen engaged on the business of the League shall 
enjoy diplomatic privileges and immunities. 

The buildings and other property occupied by the League or 
its officials or by Representatives attending its meetings shall 
be inviolable. 

Article 8 

The Members of the League recognize that the maintenance 
of peace requires the reduction of national armaments to the 
lowest point consistent with national safety and the enforcement 
by common action of international obligations. 

The Council, taking account of the geographical situation and 
circumstances of each State, shall formulate plans for such reduc- 
tion for the consideration and action of the several Governments. 

Such plans shall be subject to reconsideration and revision 
at least every ten years. 

After these plans shall have been adopted by the several 
Governments, the limits of armaments therein fixed shall not be 
exceeded with the concurrence of the Council. 

The Members of the League agree that the manufacture by 
private enterprise of munitions and implements of war is open 
to grave objections. The Council shall advise how the evil 
effects attendant upon such manufacture can be prevented, due 
regard being had to the necessities of those Members of the 
League which are not able to manufacture the munitions and 
implements of war necessary for their safety. 

The Members of the League undertake to interchange full 
and frank information as to the scale of their armaments, their 
millitary, naval and air programmes and the condition of such 
of their industries as are adaptable to war-like purposes. 



506 APPENDIX G 

Article 9 

A permanent Commission shall be constituted to advise the 
Council on the execution of the provisions of Articles 1 and 
8 and on military, naval and air questions generally. 

Article 10 

The Members of the League undertake to respect and pre- 
serve as against external aggression the territorial integrity and 
existing political independence of all Members of the League. In 
case of any such aggression or in case of any threat or danger of 
such aggression the Council shall advise upon the means by 
which this obligation shall be fulfilled. 

Article 11 

Any war or threat of war, whether immediately affecting any 
of the Members of the League or not, is hereby declared a matter 
of concern to the whole League, and the League shall take any 
action that may be deemed wise and effectual to safeguard the 
peace of nations. In case any such emergency should arise, 
the Secretary General shall on the request of any Member of the 
League forthwith summon a meeting of the Council. 

It is also declared to be the friendly right of each Member 
of the League to bring to the attention of the Assembly or of 
the Council any circumstance Avhatever affecting international 
relations which threatens to disturb international peace or the 
good understanding between nations upon which peace depends. 

Article 12 

The Members of the League agree that if there should arise 
between them any dispute likely to lead to a rupture, they will 
submit the matter either to arbitration or to inquiry by the Coun- 
cil, and they agree in no case to resort to war until three months 
after the award by the arbitrators or the report by the Council. 

In any case under this Article the award of the arbitrators 
shall be made within a reasonable time, and the report of the 
Council shall be made within six months after the submission 
of the dispute. 



THE COVENANT OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS 507 

Article 13 

The Members of the League agree that whenever any dispute 
shall arise between them which they recognize to be suitable 
for submission to arbitration and which cannot be satisfactorily 
settled by diplomacy, they will submit the whole subject-mat- 
ter to arbitration. 

Disputes as to the interpretation of a treaty, as to any ques- 
tion of international law, as to the existence of any fact which 
if established would constitute a breach of any international 
obligation, or as to the extent and nature of the reparation to be 
made for any such breach, are declared to be among those which 
are generally suitable for submission to arbitration. 

For the consideration of any such dispute the court of arbi- 
tration to which the case is referred shall be the Court agreed 
on by the parties to the dispute or stipulated in any convention 
existing between them. 

The Members of the League agree that they will carry out 
in full good faith any award that may be rendered, and that they 
will not resort to war against a Member of the League which com- 
plies therewith. In the event of any failure to carry out such an 
award, the Council shall propose what steps should be taken to 
give effect thereto. 

Article 14 

The Council shall formulate and submit to the Members of 
the League for adoption plans for the establishment of a Per- 
manent Court of International Justice. The Court shall be 
competent to hear and determine any dispute of an international 
character which the parties thereto submit to it. The Court may 
also give an advisory opinion upon any dispute or question 
referred to it by the Council or by the Assembly. 

Article 15 

If there should arise between Members of the League any 
dispute likely to lead to a rupture, which is not submitted to 
arbitration in accordance mth Article 13, the Members of the 
League ao-ree that thev will submit the matter to the Council. 



508 APPENDIX G 

Any party to the dispute may effect such submission by giving 
notice of the existence of the dispute to the Secretary G-eneral, 
who will make all necessary arrangements for a full investigation 
and consideration thereof. 

For this purpose the parties to the dispute will communicate 
to the Secretary General, as promptly as possible, statements of 
their case with all the relevant facts and papers, and the Council 
may forth\\dth direct the publication thereof. 

The Council shall endeavor to effect a settlement of the dis- 
pute, and, if such efforts are successful, a statement shall be 
made public giving such facts and explanations regarding the 
dispute and the terms of settlement thereof as the Council may 
deem appropriate. 

If the dispute is not thus settled, the Council either unani- 
mously or by a majority vote shall make and publish a report 
containing a statement of the facts of the dispute and the recom- 
mendations which are deemed just and proper in regard thereto. 

Any Member of the League represented on the Council may 
make public a statement of the facts of the dispute and of its 
conclusions regarding the same. 

If a report bj- the Council is unanimously agreed to by the 
members thereof other than the Representatives of one or more 
of the parties to the dispute, the Members of the League agree 
that they will not go to war with any party to the dispute which 
complies with the recommendations of the report. 

If the Council fails to. reach a report which is unanimously 
agreed to by the members thereof, other than the Representatives 
of one or more of the parties to the dispute, the Members of the 
League reserve to themselves the right to take such action as 
they shall consider necessary for the maintenance of right 
and justice. 

If the dispute between the parties is claimed by one of them, 
and is found by the Council, to arise out of a matter which by 
international law is solely within the domestic jurisdiction of 
that party, the Council shall so report, and shall make no recom- 
mendation as to its settlement. 

The Council may in any case under this Article refer the 
dispute to the Assembly. The dispute shall be so referred at the 



THE COVENANT OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS 509 

request of either party to the dispute, provided that such request 
be made within fourteen days after the submission of the dispute 
to the Council. 

In any case referred to the Assembly, all the provisions of 
this Article and Article 12 relating to the action and powers of 
the Council shall apply to the action and powers of the Assembly, 
provided that a report made b}^ the Assembly, if concurred in 
by the Representatives of those Members of the League repre- 
sented on the Council and of a majority of the other Members 
of the League, exclusive in each case of the Representatives of 
the parties to the dispute, shall have the same force as a report 
by the Council concurred in by all the members thereof other than 
the Representatives of one or more of the parties to the dispute. 

Article 16 

Should any Member of the League resort to war in disregard 
of its covenants under Articles 12, 13 or 15^ it shall ipso facto 
be deemed to have committed an act of war against the other 
Members of the League, which hereby undertake immediately 
to subject it to the severance of all trade or financial relations, 
the prohibition of all intercourse between their nationals and 
the nationals of the covenant-breaking State, and the prevention 
of all financial, commercial or personal intercourse between the 
nationals of the covenant-breaking State and the nationals of 
any other State, Avhether a Member of the League or not. 

It shall be the duty of the Council in such case to recommend 
to the several Governments concerned what effective military, 
naval or air force the Members of the League shall severally con- 
tribute to the armed forces to be used to protect the covenants 
of the Leagiie. 

The Members of the League agree, further, that they will 
mutually support one another in the financial and economic 
measures which are taken under this Article, in order to minimize 
the loss an,d inconvenience resulting from the above measures, 
and that they will mutually support one another in resisting any 
special measures aimed at one of their number by the covenant- 
breaking State, and that they will take the necessary steps to 



510 APPENDIX G 

afford passage through their territory to the forces of any of 
the Members of the League which are cooperating to protect the 
covenants of the League. 

Any Member of the League which has violated any covenant 
of the League may be declared to be no longer a Member of the 
League by a vote of the Council concurred in by the Representa- 
tives of all the other Members of the League represented thereon. 

Article 17 

In the event of a dispute between a Member of the League and 
a State which is not a Member of the League, or between States 
not Members of the League, the State or States not Members of 
the League shall be invited to accept the obligations of member- 
ship in the League for the purposes of such dispute, upon such 
conditions as the Council may deem just. If such an invitation 
is accepted the provisions of Articles 12 to 16 inclusive shall 
be applied with such modifications as may be deemed necessary 
by the Council. 

Upon such invitation being given the Council shall imme- 
diately institute an inquiry into the circumstances of the dispute 
and recommend such action as may seem best and most effectual 
in the circumstances. 

If a State so invited shall refuse to accept the obligations of 
membership in the League for the purposes of such dispute, and 
shall resort to war against a Member of the League, the pro- 
visions of Article 16 shall be applicable as against the State 
taking such action. 

If both parties to the dispute when so invited refuse to accept 
the obligations of membership in the League for the purposes of 
such dispute, the Council mRV take such measures and make such 
recommendations as will prevent hostilities and will result in the 
settlement of the dispute. 

Article 18 

Every treaty or international engagement entered into here- 
after by any Member of the League shall be forthwith registered 
with the Secretariat and shall as soon as possible be published 



\ 



THE COVENANT OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS 511 

by it. No such treaty or international engagement shall be bind- 
ing until so registered. 

Article 19 

The Assembly may from time to time advise the reconsider- 
ation by Members of the League of treaties which have become 
inapplicable and the consideration of international conditions 
whose continuance might endanger the peace of the world. 

Article 20 

The Members of the League severally agree that this Cove- 
nant is accepted as abrogating all obligations or understandings 
i7iter se which are inconsistent wdth the terms thereof, and 
solemnly undertake that they will not hereafter enter into any 
engagements inconsistent with the terms thereof. 

In case any Member of the League shall, before becoming a 
Member of the League, have undertaken any obligations incon- 
sistent with the terms of this Covenant, it shall be the dut}^ of 
such Member to take immediate steps to procure its release from 
such obligations. 

Article 21 

Nothing in this Covenant shall be deemed to affect the validity 
of international engagements, such as treaties of arbitration or 
regional understandings like the Monroe doctrine, for securing 
the maintenance of peace. 

Article 22 

To those colonies and territories which as a consequence of 
the late war have ceased to be under the sovereignty of the 
States which formerly governed them and which are inhabited 
by peoples not yet able to stand by themselves under the strenu- 
ous conditions of the modern world, there should be applied the 
principle that the well-being and development of such peoples 
form a sacred trust of civilization and that securities for the 
performance of this trust should be embodied in this Covenant. 

The best method of giving practical effect to this principle is 



512 APPENDIX G 

that the tutelage of such peoples should be entrusted to advanced 
nations who, by reason of their resources, their experience or 
their geographical position, can best undertake this responsibility, 
and who are willing to accept it, and that this tutelage should be 
exercised by them as Mandatories on behalf of the League. 

The character of the mandate must differ according to the 
stage of the development of the people, the geographical situ- 
ation of the territory, its economic conditions and other simi- 
lar circumstances. 

Certain communities formerly belonging to the Turkish 
Empire have reached a stage of development where their exist- 
ence as independent nations can be provisionally recognized sub- 
ject to the rendering of administrative advice and assistance by 
a Mandatory until such time as they are able to stand alone. The 
wishes of these communities must be a principal consideration 
in the selection of the Mandatory. 

Other peoples, especially those of Central Africa, are at such 
a stage that the Mandatory must be responsible for the adminis- 
tration of the territory under conditions which will guarantee 
freedom of conscience and religion, subject only to the mainten- 
ance of public order and morals, the prohibition of abuses such 
as the slave trade, the arms traffic and the liquor traffic, and the 
prevention of the establishment of fortifications or military and 
naval bases and of military training of the natives for other than 
police purposes and the defence of territory, and will also secure 
equal opportunities for the trade and commerce of other Mem- 
bers of the League. 

There are territories, such as South-West Africa and certain 
of the South Pacific Islands, which, owing to the sparseness of 
their population, or their small size, or their remoteness from 
the centers of civilization, or their geographical contiguit}^ to 
the territory of the Mandatory, and other circumstances, can be 
best administered under the laws of the Mandatory as integral 
portions of its territory, subject to the safeguards above men- 
tioned in the interests of the indigenous population. 
. In every case of mandate, the Mandatory shall render to the 



THE COVENANT OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS 513 

Council an annual report in reference to the territory committed 
to its charge. 

The degree of authority, control, or administration to be 
exercised by the Mandator}^ shall, if not previously agreed upon 
by the Members of the League, be explicitly defined in each case 
b}' the Council. 

A permanent Commission shall be constituted to receive 
and examine the annual reports of the Mandatories and to 
advise the Council on all matters relating to the observance of 
the mandates. 

Article 23 

Subject to and in accordance with the provisions of inter- 
national conventions existing or hereafter to be agreed upon, the 
Members of the League: 

(a) will endeavor to secure and maintain fair and humane 
conditions of labor for men, women, and children, 
both in their own countries and in all countries to 
which their commercial and industrial relations ex- 
tend, and for that purpose will establish and maintain 
the necessary international organizations ; 
(h) undertake to secure just treatment of the native inhabi- 
tants of territories under their control ; 

(c) wdll entrust the League with the general supervision 

over the execution of agreements with regard to the 
traffic in women and children; and the traffic in 
opium and other dangerous drugs; 

(d) will entrust the League with the general supervision of 

the trade in arms and ammunition with the countries 
in which the control of this traffic is necessary in the 
common interest ; 

(e) will make provision to secure and maintain freedom of 

communications and of transit and equitable treat- 
ment for the commerce of all Members of the League. 
In this connection, the special necessities of the regions 
devastated during the war of 1914-1918 shall be borne 
in mind ; 
(/) mil endeavor to take steps in matters of international 
concern for the prevention and control of disease. 



514 APPENDIX G 

Article 24 

There shall be placed under the direction of the League all 
international bureaux already established by general treaties if 
the parties to such treaties consent. All such international 
bureaux and all commissions for the regulation of matters of 
international interest hereafter constituted shall be placed under 
the direction of the League. 

In all matters of international interest which are regulated 
by general conventions but which are not placed under the con- 
trol of international bureaux or commissions, the Secretariat of 
the League shall, subject to the consent of the Council and if 
desired by the parties, collect and distribute all relevant infor- 
mation and shall render any other assistance which may be neces- 
sary^ or desirable. 

The Council may include as part of the expenses of the Secre- 
tariat the expenses of any bureau or commission which is placed 
under the direction of the League. 

Article 25 

The Members of the League agree to encourage and promote 
the establishment and cooperation of duh^ authorized voluntary 
national Red Cross organizations having as purposes the improve- 
ment of health, the prevention of disease and the mitigation of 
suffering throughout the world. 

Article 26 

Amendments to this Covenant will take effect when ratified 
by the Members of the League whose Representatives compose 
the Council by a majority of the Members of the League whose 
Representatives compose the Assembly. 

No such amendment shall bind any Member of the League 
which signifies its dissent therefrom, but in that case it shall 
cease to be a Member of the League. 



THE COVENANT OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS 515 



ANNEX 

I. ORIGINAL MEMBERS OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS SIGNATORIES OF 

THE TREATY OP PEACE 



United States of America 

Belgium 

Bolivia 

Brazil 

British Empire 

Canada 

Australia 

South Africa 

New Zealand 

India 
China 
Cuba 
Ecuador 
France 
Greece 
Guatemala 



Haiti 

Hedjaz 

Honduras 

Italy 

Japan 

Liberia 

Nicaragua 

Panama 

Peru 

Poland 

Portugal 

roumania 

Serb-Croat-Slovene State 

SlAM 

Czecho-Slovakia 
Uruguay 



INDEX 



A. B. C. conferences, 432 

Abolition, early agitation of, 206; 
Georgia on, 79 

Abolitionists, as viewed by Abraham 
Lincoln, 280 (fn.), 305; early 
party activities, 274 (fn.) ; infln- 
ence of, 292; in the West, 285; 
under leadership of Garrison, 
284; views of conditions in the 
South, 290 

Acadia, captured, 97 

Act, the Embargo, 225 ; the Stamp, 
passage of, 138; the Sugar, 130, 
138 

Acts, the "Intolerable," 143; the 
Townshend, 141 

Adams, Charles Francis, 353 

Adams, family of, in American his- 
tory, 255 

Adams, John, election of, 211; helps 
draw up Declaration of Independ- 
ence, 164 

Adams, John Quincy, election of, 
251; on proposed annexation of 
Texas, 273; sketch of, 252 

Adams, Samuel, escapes capture, 
146; on British taxation, 139 

Advertisements for runawav slaves, 
116 

Agriculture, development of, 295 
et seq. ; Education Act, 395 

Alabama, admission into Union, 245 

Alabama, the, 347 

Alamo, siege of, 275 

Alaska, purchased by United States, 
358, 423 

Albany, plan, 101 

Algonquins, allies of the French, 92 

Alien and sedition laws, 213 

Amendments, constitutional, first 
ten, 202; of reconstruction. XIII 
to XV, 356 

America, naming of, 26 

American Colonization Society, 
work of, 267 ; party, 286 



Amlierst, General, 104 
Anaesthetics, first use of, 301 
Andre, JNIajor, 177 
Andros, Sir Edmund, 90 
Anglo-Celtic compared with Anglo- 
Saxon, 32 
Antietam, battle of, 330 
Anti-Federalists, 193 et seq. 
Anti-Masons, party of, 255 (fn.) 
Appomattox Court House, 351 
Arbitration treaties, 391 
Archer, Captain Gabriel, 11, 12, 13, 

15 
Argonne Forest, 456 
Arizona admitted to the Union, 371 
Armada, the " Invincible," 30 
Arnold, Benedict, 170, 177, 180 
Arthur, Chester A., sketch of, 369; 
succeeds to the Presidency, 368 
Assembly, first legislative, at 
Jamestown, 19; of Massachusetts, 
54 
Atlantic cable, 300 

B 

Bacon, Nathaniel, 89; epitaph of, 

123 
Bacon, Sir Francis, 15, 19 
Bahamas, 24 

•• Balance of Power." 244, 246 
Baltimore, defense of, 233 ; first 

bloodshed in 1861, 315 
Baltimore, Lord, (see Calvert) 
Bank, national, abolition of, under 

Jackson, 264; created, 240 
Beauregard. General P. G. T.. 314 
Beecher, Henry Ward, 285 
Bennington, battle of, 169 
Berkeley, Sir William, in Virginia, 

88 
Bermuda Islands, the, 16 
Bibliographical notes. Appendix A 
Birney, James G., candidate for 

President. 274 
Bismarck on Monroe Doctrine. 425 

(fn.) 

517 



518 



INDEX 



Blaine, James G., 368; defeated for 
Presidency, 370 

Bolsheviki, 444 

Bonaparte, Napoleon, 212 et seq. 

Boone, Daniel, 107 

Booth, John Wilkes, 355 

Boston, evacuated by British, 160; 
the " Massacre," 146 

Bouquet, Colonel Henry, 106 

Boxer rebellion, 384 

Braddock, General Edwin, 102 

Bradford, William, 36; on merry- 
making and games, 44; opinion 
of Roger Williams, 62 

Bragg, General Braxton, 333 

Brandy wine Creek, battle of, 169 

Brent, Mistress Margaret, 417 

Brewster; William, 37, 38 

Brooke, John Mercer, erects first 
iron-clad, 324; invents deep sea 
sounding apparatus, 300 (fn.) 

Brown, Alexander, history of, 14 
(fn.) 

Brown, John, in Kansas, 285 ; in- 
vades Virginia, 290 

Bryan, William Jennings, nomina- 
tion of, 377 ; resigns as Secretarv 
of State, 438 

Buchanan, James, election of. sketch 
of, 287 ; on secession in the South, 
309 

Buck, Rev. Richard, sermon of, at 
Jamesto\vn, 16 

Bull Run, battle of, 320; second 
battle of, 329 

Bunker Hill, battle of, 158 

Burgoyne, General, 169 

Burke, Edmund, on conciliation, 150 
(fn.) 

Burnside, General Ambrose E., 332 

Burr, Aaron, duel with Hamilton, 
223; elected Vice-President, 215; 
trial of, 238 

Burras, Anne, 14 

Butler, General B. F., 322 

Byrd, William, 122, 124 

C 

Cabal, the Conway, 171 

Cabot, John, discovers North Amer- 
ica, 1 ; explorations of, 22 et seq., 
26 et seq. 



Calhoun, John C, approves protec- 
tive tariff, 241; death of, 282; 
opposes tariff, 254; Secretary of 
State, 272; sketch of, 262 

California, admitted to Union, 279; 
gold discovered in, 279 ; purchase 
of, 278 

Calvert, George, first Lord Balti- 
more, 68 

Camden, battle of, 176 

Canada, beginnings of, 2; border 
line of, 258, 270 

Canary Islands, 8 

" Carpetbagger " rule in the South, 
357 et seq. 

Carroll, Charles, of Carrol Iton, 301 

Cartier, 29 

Carver, Governor John, 39 

Catholics established in Maryland, 
67 et seq. 

Cavaliers, emigration of, 52, 88 

Cedar Run, battle of, 329 

Census, the first, 207, 216 

Central America, dissensions in, 426 

Champlain, Samuel de, 92 

Chancellorsville, battle of, 335 

Clianco, Indian convert, 87 

Charles I, overthrow of, 52 

Charles II, restoration of, 53, 90 

Charleston, capture of, 175; defense 1| 
of, 162 II 

Charter Oak, 131 (fn.); of 1609, 
15; of 1609, extended, 19 

Chateau-Thierry, battle of, 451 

Cherokee Indians, 76 ; defeated by 
Carolinians, 106 

Chesapeake Bay, 8 

Chickamauga, battle of, 340 

Chinese immigration, 408 et seq. 

Citizenship, duties and obligations 
of, 216 

Civil Service bill, 356; reform, 369 

Claims, western land, 186, 196 

Clark, George Rogers, campaign in 
the Northwest, 172 et seq.; sketch 
of, 173 

Clark, William, 224 

Clarke, Elijah, 176 

Clay, Henry, advocates war with 
Great Britain, 228; death of, 
282; Secretary of State, 252; 
sketch of, 253 



INDEX 



519 



Cleveland, Grover, election of, sketch 

of, 370; reelection of, 374 
Clinton, de Witt, 242 
Clinton, Sir Henry, 171, 175 
Coinage, system, 198 
Cold Harbor, battle of, 327; second 

battle of, 343 
Colombia, negotiations with, 387, 

431 
Colonial life and customs, 111 et 

seq. 
Colonies, proprietary, royal, and 

charter, 130 et seq. 
Colonization, kinds of, 25 et seq. 
Colony, the first English, setting ont 

of, 6 et seq. 
Colorado, admitted to the Union, 

371 
Columbus, explorations of, 22 et 

seq.; voyages of, 1 
Commonwealth, thei, under Crom- 
well, 52 
Communal system, the, at James- 
town, 12; at Plymouth, 40 
Compact, the Mayfioicer, 39 
Compromise, of 1850, 279; of 1854, 

285; on tariff, 263; tariff, set 

aside by Clay, 270; the Missouri, 

245 
Compromises, Federal, effects of, 246 
Concord, clash at, 148 
Confederacv, the Southern, creation 

of, 310 
Confederate Navy, the, 347 
Confederation, review of the, 185 

et seq. 
Congress, the first Continental, 145; 

the second Continental, 159; the 

Stamp Act, 140 
Connecticut, beginnings of, 55 et 

seq. 
Conservation, policies proposed, 389 
Constantinople, captured bv Turks, 

22 
Constitution of the United States, 

Appendix C; adoption of. 193; 

early views in regard to, 197; 

knowledge of, 215 
Covstitntion, the, 213; in war of 

1812, 229 
Convention, Hartford, 236; National 

Union, 348 (fn.) 



Cooper, James Fenimore, 81, 304 
Cornstalk, Indian chief, 107 
Cornwallis, General, 166, 168, 176; 

surrender of, 181 
Coronado, 28 
Corporations, capital and labor, 

review of, 414 
Correspondence, committees of, 152 
Cotton gin, invention of, 216 
Cowpens, battle of, 179 
Cox, James M., 463 
Crater, battle of, 345 
Credit Mobilier, 415 
Creed, the American's, 48, Appendix 

E 
Crockett, David, 275 
Cromwell, Oliver, 52 
Cuba, conditions in, 378; discovered 

by Columbus, 24; proclaimed 

republic, 382 
Cumberland, established, 98 
Currency legislation, review of, 401 

et seq.; reform, 394 
Custer, General, death of, 363 

D 

Dale, Sir Thomas, 18 

Dane, Nathan, 187 

Danish West Indies, purchase of, 
424 

Dare, Virginia, 31 

Dartmouth College, case of, 237 

Davis, Jefferson, captured and im- 
prisoned, 352; sketch of. 312 

Dawes, William, ride of, 147 

Deane, Silas, 168 

De Ayllon, 28 

Debtors, early treatment of, 78 

De Kalb, Baron, 176 

Delaware, beginnings of, 67 

Delaware, Lord, 15 

De Leon, Ponce, 28 

Democracy, rise of, 237 

Democratic party, beginnings of, 
211 

De Soto, expedition of. 27 

D'Estaign, Admiral, 175 

Detroit, established by French, 97 ; 
surrender of, 229 

De Vaca, 28 

Dewey. Commodore, at ^Manila. 379 

Dinwiddle, Governor Kobert. 99 



520 



INDEX 



Douglas, Stephen A., debates with 
Lincoln, 288; nominated for Presi- 
dent, 29 1 ; proposes squatter 
sovereignty, 284; quoted on 
slavery and abolition, 305 

Drake, Sir Francis, 12, 29 

Drayton, Michael, 7 

Duelling, 1 15 

Dunmore, Lord, carries on Indian 
war, 107; proclamation of emanci- 
pation by, 154 

Dustin, Hannah, story of, 109 

E 

Early, General Jubal A., 343 

Earth, mediaeval ideas of, 22 et seq. 

Economic review, 295 et seq. 

Education, development of, 302; 
early, 20, 34, 51; later Colonial, 
121 

Edwards, Jonathan, 122 

Elizabeth, Queen, 3 

Emancipation, movement checked, 
292 ; Proclamation by Lord Dun- 
more, 154; Proclamation by Presi- 
dent Lincoln, 332 

Emerson, Ralph Waldo, on John 
Brown, 290 (fn.) ; sketch of, 303 

Endicott, Governor John, 45 

England, conditions in, under James 
I and Charles I, 52 

Ericson, Leif, 31 

p]riesson, John, 324 

Erie Canal, 242 

Europe, in fifteenth century, 22 et 
seq.; after overthrow of Napoleon, 
247 

Eutaw Springs, battle of, 180 

Ewell, General, 335 

F 

Farming, early methods of, 118 

Farragut, Commodore David G., 
322 

Federalists, in control of govern- 
ment, 199 et seq. ; party of, 193 
et seq. 

Federal Reserve Act, 394, 401 

Ferdinand, King of Spain, 23 

Fever, malarial, 11 

" Fifty-four-forty or Fight," 273 



Fillmore, Millard, sketch of, suc- 
ceeds to Presidency, 282 

Fisher, Sydney George, on life in 
Colonial times, 118 

Fitch, John, 217 

" Five Nations," the, 94 ' 

Florida, purchase of, 243; Spanish 
settlement of, 28 

Foch, General Ferdinand, 449 

Force Bill, 406 

Foreign affairs, review of, 422 et 
seq. 

Forrest, General Nathan Bedford, 
sketch of, 334 

Fort, Donelson, capture<l, 321; 
Henry, captured, 321; McHenry, 
defense of, 233; Sumter, discus- 
sion concerning, 314 

France, first settlements in America, 
29; struggle for possession of con- 
tinent, 92 et seq. 

Frankland, State of, 197 

Franklin, Benjamin, editor, 122; 
first Postmaster General, 125; in 
France, 168; proposes Colonial 
Union, 101 ; sketch of, 165 

Fredericksburg, battle of, 332 

Freedmen's bureau, the, 357 

Free trade, definition of, 397 (fn.) 

Fremont, John C, 287 

Friends, Society of. Colonial begin- 
nings, 67 ; established in Pennsyl- 
vania, 69 

Frontenac, Count, 96 

Frontiers, early Colonial, 108 

Fugitive slave law, the, 280 

Fulton, Robert, 218 

G 

Gadsden, Christopher, on Colonial 

unity, 144 (fn.) 
Gage, General, at Boston, 145 
Gallatin, Albert, 208, 222 (fn.) 
Garfield, James A., election of, 

sketch of, 368 
Garrison, William Lloyd, 284 
Gas, illuminating, introduction of, 

300 
Gates, General Horatio, 167 (fn.), 

170, 171, 176 
Gates, Sir Thomas, 16, 45 (fn.) 



*i 



INDEX 



521 



Gayley, C. M., on " Shakespeare and 
the Founders of Liberty in Amer- 
ica," 63 (fn.) 

Genet, " Citizen," 210 

Gentlemen, Wayland's definition 
of a, 50 (fn.) 

George III, attitude toward Colonies, 
134; character of, 145 (fn.) 

Georgia, beginnings of, 77 

Germans, Colonial immigration of, 
125; in War of Secession, 311 
(fn.); in Western States, 412 

Germantown, battle of, 169 

Germany, war with, 441 et seq. 

Gettysburg, battle of, 336 

Gist, Christopher, 98 

Gordon, General John B,, 350 (fn.) 

Gosnold, Captain Bartholomew, 12 

Government, need for, 215 

Grandfather clause, the, 407 

Grant, General Ulysses S., 321 ; 
appointed commander-in-chief, 

342 ; election of, sketch of, 359 

Great Bridge, engagement at, 155 

Gi'eeley, Horace, defeated for the 
Presidency, 362; on secession, 311 

Greene, General Nathanael, 176; 
sketch of, 177 

Grenville, George, British minister, 
137 

Guilford Court House, battle of, 179 

H 

Hale, Nathan, 183 

Hamilton, Alexander, death of, 223; 
ideas of government, 203 ; in Con- 
stitutional Convention, 189; on 
Jefferson ian democracv, 404; 
sketch of, 191 

Hancock, John, escapes capture, 
sketch of, 146 

Hancock, Winfield Scott, defeated 
for Presidency, 368 

Harding, Warren Gamaliel, election 
of, 463 

Hariot, Thomas, 31 

Harrison, Benjamin, election of, 
sketch of, 371 

Harrison, William Henry, defeats 
Indians, 228 (fn.); election of, 
267 ; sketch of, 269 

Harrod, James, 209 



Harvard University, beginnings of, 
51 

Hawaii, annexiition of, 434 

Hawthorne, Nathaniel, sketch of, 
302 

Hay, John, Secretary of State, 383 

Hayes, Rutherford B., 363; sketch 
of, 366 

Hayti, 24 

Jlenrico, College of, 20, 34 

Henry VII, 1 ; directions to Cabot, 
26 

Henry, Patrick, attitude on Consti- 
tution, 193; Governor of Virginia, 
172; on Colonial resistance, 139; 
on Stamp Act, 136 (fn. ); sketch 
of, 140 

Hessians, 163 (fn.), 167 

Higginson, Francis, 46 

Higginson, Thomas Wentworth, 290 

Hobart, Sir Henry, 15 

Holland, liberation of, 17; refuge 
of Pilgrims, 6, 36; religious lib- 
erty in, 35 (fn.) 

Holy Alliance, the, 247 

Hooker, General Joseph E., 335 

Hooker, Thomas, begins settlement 
in Connecticut, 58; views on gov- 
ernment, 62 

Hoover, Herbert, 462 

Hopkins, Stephen, 44 

Hospitalitv, Colonial, 116 

Howe, Lord, 167, 169 

Hudson, Henry, discoveries of, 64 

Huger, Francis Kihloch, rescues 
Lafayette, 129 

Hughes, Charles Evans, defeated for 
Presidency, 441 

Huguenots, first settlement of, 29, 76 

Hutchinson, Mrs. Anne, exilied from 
Boston, 56 



Idaho, admitted to the L^nion. 371 
Illinois, admitted to the L^nion. 

245; County of, 174 
Immigration, first laws on, 207 ; 

review of, 408 et seq. 
Income tax, 391 
Independence. Declaration of. 162 

et seq.; text of the, Appendix B 
Indiana, admitted to the Union, 242 



522 



INDEX 



Indians, American, distribution of, 
82; life and customs, 83; naming 
of, 24; of New England, 42; 
origin, etc., 82 et seq.; relations 
with early settlers, 80 et seq.; 
religion and government, 84; see, 
also, beginnings of each colony. 
Indigo, cultivation of, 77 
Ingraham, Captain Duncan N., 283 
Interstate commerce, 376, 421 
Irish, the, immigration of, 411 et 

seq. 
Iroquois, the, allies of English, 92 
Isabella, Queen, of Spain, 23 



Jackson, Andrew, at New Orleans, 
234; duel of, 115 (fn.) ; election 
of, 254; in War of 1812, 231; 
sketch of, 259 ; versus South Caro- 
lina, 268 

Jackson, General T. J. (Stonewall), 
320 ; sketch of, 335 

James I, belief in divine right of 
kings, 3; versus Sir Edwin 
Sandys, 6 

James II, overthrow of, 53 

Jameson, Dr. J. Franklin, 13 (fn.) 

Jamestown, destruction of, 89 ; 
founding of, 8 ; mortality at, 43 

Japan, rise of, 284 

Japanese, immigration of, 408 et 
seq. 

Jefferson, Thomas, draws up Declar- 
ation of Independence, 164; 
elected President, 215, encourages 
George Rogers Clark, 172; hospi- 
tality of, 116; ideas of govern- 
ment, 203 ; invention of plow, 
118 (fn.) ; on new territory, 187; 
on origin of Revolution. 7; sketch 
of, 219 

Jenkins, Governor C. J., 365 

Johnson, Andrew, impeachment of, 
357 ; succeeds to Presidency, 356 

Johnson, Nathaniel, 97 

Johnston, General Albert Sidney, 
321 

Johnston, General Joseph E., 319 

Jones, John Paul, 174; sketch of, 
175 

Jouett, John, ride of, 184 



K 

Kansas, struggle for, 285 
Kearsarge, the, sinks the Alabama, 

348 
Kentucky, early settlement of, 107 ; 

enters Union, 207 
Key, Francis Scott, 233 
Kidd, Captain, 77 
" King Cotton," belief in, 353 
King's Mountain, battle of, 178 
Know Nothing Party, 286 
Koszta, Martin, 283, 294 
Ku Klux Klan, 361 



Labor and corporations, review of, 
414 

Lafayette, Marquis de, enlistment 
of, 168; first impressions of Amer- 
ica, 128; revisits America, 251 

Lake Erie, battle of, 230 

La Salle, 94, 109 

Latrobe, Benjamin H., quotation 
from, 215 (fn.) ; 237 

Laurens, Henry, 161; sketch of, 144 

Laurens, John, 179; death of, 183 

Layaon, John, 14 

Leaders, Colonial, of Virginia, 155 

League of Nations, the, 459 et seq. ; 
text of the covenant of the, 
Appendix G 

Lee, Arthur, 168 

Lee, General Charles, 166, 171 

Lee, Major Henry ("Light-Horse 
Harry"), 174, 179, 180 

Lee, Richard Henry, 157, 164 

Lee, Robert E., 326; engineer in the 
West, 422; sketch of, 328 

Lee, General Stephen D., 334 

Lewis and Clark Expedition, 224 

Lewis, Meriwether, 224 

Lexington, conflict of, 147 

Liberty, party, formation of, 274 
(fn.') ; Sons of, 152 

Libraries, early Colonial, 124 

Lincoln, Abraham, assassination of, 
355; debates with Douglas, 288; 
election of, 292; on abolition agi- 
tation, 280 (fn.), 305; on negro 
suffrage, 356 (fn. ) ; on secession, 
312; sketch of, 313 



INDEX 



523 



Lincoln, General Benjamin, 175, 181 

Literature, development of, 122 et 
seq., 303; first, in English Amer- 
ica, 34 

Livingston, Robert R., 164 (fn.) 

"Lobby" legislation, 401 

Locke, John, 74 

Lodge, Senator Henry Cabot, 406 

London Company, the, 6, 13, 15; 
dissolution of, 21, 34; purpose of, 
16 (fn.) 

Longfellow, Henry Wordsworth, 303 

Long Island, battle of, 165 

Longstreet, General, 337 

Louis XIV, 95 

Louisburg, campaign against, 98 

Louisiana, admitted to Union, 235 ; 
naming of, 109; Territory, pur- 
chase of, 222 

Lundy's Lane, battle of, 232 

Lusitania, sinking of the, 437 

M 

McClellan, General George B., 319; 

nominated for Presidency, 348 ; 

sketch of, 326 
McCormick, Cvrus, invents reaper, 

295 
McDowell, General Irvin, 319 
McKinley, William, death of. 385; 

election of, sketch of, 377 ; pre- 
pares tarilT bill, 372 
Macdonough, Commodore, 232 
Madison, James, election of, 226; in 

constitutional convention, 189; 

sketch of, 227 
Magellan, 28 

Maine, admitted to L^nion, 246 
Malvern Hill, battle of, 328 
Manufactories, conditions in, 299 
Manufactures, restrictions on 

Colonial, 130 
Marion, Francis, 176, 180 
Marriage, the first, in English 

colonies, 14 
Marshall, John, as Chief Justice, 

236; made Chief Justice, 221 

(fn.) ; Secretary of State, 220 
Martin, Captain John, 12 
Maryland, beginnings of, 67 
Mason and Dixon's Line, 74 



Mason and Slidell, incident of, 320 
Mason, George, 164, 203; on new 

States, 197 - 
Massachusetts Bay Colony, 46; 

charter of, 53; charter annulled, 

90; in Revolution, 157 et seq. 
Massacre, Boston, 146; Fort Mims, 

231; Fort William Henry, 104; 

Haverhill, 97, 109; Indian, of 

1622. 86 
Massasoit, 42 
Maury, Matthew Fontaine, 297 ; 

sketch of, 298 
Meade, General George G., sketch of, 

336 
Memphis, capture of, 323 
Mexico, German intrigues in, 430 

(fn. ); overthrows Maximilian of 

Austria, 358; review of relations 

with, 427 et seq.; war witli, 275 
Mississippi, admitted to Union, 245 
Mississippi, the, discovery of. 27 
Missouri, admitted to L^nion, 245 
Mobile, establislied by French. 97 
Monitor-Virginia engagement, 323 
Monmouth, battle of, 171 
Monocacy, battle of, 344 
Monroe Doctrine, the, extension of, 

425, 431 ; origin of, 248 
]\Ionvoe, James, election of. 236; 

sketch of, 239 
Montana, admitted to LTnion, 371 
Montcalm, Marquis de, 102 
Moore's Creek Bridge, battle of. 160 
Morgan, Daniel, 179; at Saratoga. 

170; leads men to Boston, 159 

(fn.) ; sketch of, 160 
^Morgan, General John H., 340 
Morris, Gouverneur. 197; on Jeffer- 
son ian democracy, 404 
Morris, Robert, 165; sketch of. 189 
■Morristown, Washington's lieadquar- 

ters at, 169 
Morse, S. F. B., 300 
Moultrie, Colonel William, 162 

N 

Nashville, battle of, 347 

Navy, the American, seeking island 

bases for, 424 
Nebraska, admitted to Union, 371 



524 



INDEX 



Negroes, introduction of, at James- 
town, 21 
Netherlands, liberation of, 17; (see 

also Holland) 
Nevada, admitted to Union, 371 
New England, beginnings of, 35 et 
seq.; Confederation of, 58; naming 
of, 14 
New Hampshire, beginnings of, 55 

et seq. 
New Jersey, beginnings of, 66; plan 

for Union, 190 
New Mexico, admitted to Union, 372 
New Netherland, beginnings of, 64; 

surrenders to English, 66 
New Orleans, battle of, 234; capture 

of, 322 
Newport, Captain, 14 
Newspapers, early Colonial, 123 
New York, beginnings of, as New 

Netherland, 64 
Norsemen, legends of the, 31 
North Carolina, as independent gov- 
ernment, 197; beginnings of, 74 
North Dakota, admitted to Union, 

371 
North, Lord, British minister, 145 
Northwest passage, the, 14 
Nullification, first opinions of, 197; 
in Georgia, 253, 261; in Kentucky 
and Virginia resolutions, 214; in 
Maine and Massachusetts, 261; 
in South Carolina, 262; of Fugi- 
tive Slave law, 280; sentiment in 
New England, 223, 226, 229 

O 

Oglethorpe, General James Edward, 

77 
Opechancanough, 11, 34, 186 
Ordinance of 1787, 186 
Oregon country claimed for United 

States, 224," 244, 273, 281 
Otis, James, on Colonial lack of 

unity, 150 (fn.) ; on taxation and 

representation, 133 (fn.) ; on 

w^rits of assistance, 136 



Pacific, American affairs in the, 433 
Page, Colonel John, 112 (fn.) 
Panama Canal, 386 



Panics, review of, 401 et seq: 

Parcels Post inaugurated, 392 

Parker, Sir Peter, 160 

Parliament, powers of, 134 

Paulus Hook, capture of, 174 

Payne, Thomas, 163 (fn.) ; 167 (fn.) 

Peace Conference, the, at Paris, 457 
et seq. 

Peale, Charles Willson, 304; inven- 
tion of polygraph, 237 (fn.) 

Peale, Rembrandt, 304 

Pearson, Captain Richard, 174 

Pennsylvania, beginnings of, 69 et 
seq. 

Penn, William, 69 et seq. 

People's party, the, formation of, 
375 

Pepperell, William, 98 

Pequots, war with the, 60 

Percy, Captain George, 13, 14 

Perry, Commodore M. C., visits 
Japan, 284 

Perry, Captain Oliver H., 230 

Pershing, General John J., com- 
mands American Expeditionary 
Forces, 445 

Philadelphia, founding of, 71 

Philip, Indian chief, 91 

Philippines, revolt of, 383; seizure 
of, 380 

Phips, William, 96 

Pickens, Andrew, 176 

Pickering, Timothy, quotation from, 
239 

Pierce, Franklin, election of, 282; 
sketch of, 283 

Pike, Zebulon M., 238 

" Pilgrims," the, compared with 
Puritans, 35 (fn.) ; 41, 47; mor- 
tality among, 42; refuse Smith's 
guidance, 14, 45; story of, 35 et 
seq. 

Pioneers, Colonial, 109 

Pitcairn, Major, 147, 159 

Pitt, William, 171; British War 
Minister, 104; on America's atti- 
tude, 150 (fn.) 

Plattsburg, battle of, 232 

Plvniouth Company, 32 

Plymouth, England, 38; New Eng- 
land, settlement of, 39; help from 
Virginia, 43 



I 



I 



INDEX 



525 



Pocahontas, 14; marriage of, 17 
Poe, Edgar Allan, sketch of, 302 
Poetry, Colonial beginnings of, 12'2" 
Point Pleasant, battle of, 108 
Polk, James K., election of, sketch 

of, 274 
Polo, Marco, 24 
Pontiac, conspiracy of, 106 
Pope, General John, 328 
Population, shifting of, 298 
Porto Rico, invasion of, 381 
Portugal, claims of, 25 
Postal, savings system, 392; service. 

Colonial, 125 
Potato, the, 31 
Powhatan, 11, 14 
Prescott, W. H., sketch of, 304 
Presidential succession, 370 
Presidents, table of the. Appendix F 
Press, freedom of the, in Colonial 

days, 132 
Princeton, battle of, 166 
Printing, first, 51; improvement in 

processes, 301 
Prison life in War of Secession, 354 
Prohibition, review of, 416 
Propaganda, German, in United 

States, 440 
Public school system, beginnings of, 

122 
Pulaski, Count, 175 
Pure Food legislation, 396 
Puritans, class distinction among, 

50; customs of, 51. 113; immigra- 
tion of, 45 et seq.: 90 
Putnam, General, 165 

Q 

Quakers (see Friends) 
Quebec, capture of, 104; founding 
of, 92 



R 



Pace issues, 406 ef seq. 
Radicals in Congress, 356 et seq. 
Railroads, early construction of, 

301 ; expansion of, after War of 

Secession. 414 et seq. 
Raleigh. Sir Walter. 4, 12, 30 
Ratcliflfe, Captain John. 13, 15 



Rebellion, Bacon's, 89; Shays', 188; 
Whiskey, 208 

Reconstruction-, end of, 366; period 
of, 354 et seq.; policy of Lincoln, 
355 

Reed, Thomas B., 374 

" Regulators," of North Carolina, 
151 

Republican party, beginnings of. 2S7 

Resolutions, Kentucky and \'irginia, 
214 

Revere, Paul, ride of, 147 

Revolution, American, 156 et seq.; 
character of, 149; the French, 210 

Rhode Island, as independent gov- 
ernment, 197; beginnings of, 55 
et seq. 

Ribault, Jean, 76 

Rice, cultivation of, 77 

Richmond evacuated, 350 

Rider, Edward, 6 (fn.) 

Rights, Virginia bill of, 157, 164 

Roanoke Island, 13 et seq.; at- 
tempted settlement at, 30 

Robertson, James, 127 

Robinson, John, 40 

Rolfe, John, 17 

Roosevelt, Theodore. author of 
''The Winning of the West," 127 
(fn.) ; declines second Progressive 
nomination, 441; in Cuba, 380; 
nominated by Progressive party, 
392 ; nominated for Vice-Presi- 
dent, 384; sketch of, succeeds to 
Presidency, 385 

Rosecrans, General, 333 

Rough Riders, the, 380 

Royalists, party of, 52 

Rumsey, James, 217 

Rural Credits Law, 395 

Russia, dealings with, 423; revolu- 
tion in, 443 

Rutledge. John, 162 

S 

St. Lusson, at Lake Superior, 94 
St. Mihiel Salient, reduction of. 445 
Salem, settlement of. 46; witchcraft 

prosecutions at. 114 
Samoan Islands, the. 433 
Sanborn, F. B., on disunion. 311 



526 



INDEX 



Sandys, Sir Edwin, associates of, 
33; draws up charter, 15; founder 
of America, 3, 21; offer to Pil- 
grims, 17, 36, 37; plans of, 6; 
secures new privileges for James- 
town colonists, 19; versus James 
I, 6 

Sandys, George, 34 

San Jacinto, battle of, 275 

Santo Domingo, agitation for annex- 
ation of, 424; discovery of, 24 

Savannali, attack on, 175 

Say»3rook, founding of, 62 

" Scalawags," union of, with carpet- 
baggers, 357 et seq. 

Schofield, General, 346 

Schools, early Colonial, 127 ; first 
American, 20 

Schurz, Carl, 365 

Schuyler, General, 169 

" Scotch-Irish," the, immigration of, 
125 

Scott, Dred, 288 

Scott, Winfield, in Mexican War, 
276; in War of 1812, 229 

Secession, petitions presented by 
Seward, 280; proposed in oppo- 
sition to admission of Louisiana, 
235, 238; proposed in opposition 
to purchase of Louisiana Terri- 
tory, 223; proposed in opposition, 
to War of 1812, 229; sentiment 
in lower South, 307 ; sentiment in 
upper South, 315 

Sectional misunderstandings, 268 

Sedgwick, General. 337 

Self-government, 6; Anglo-Celtic 
methods of, 25; at Jamestown, 19, 
21 et seq.; Colonial struggle to 
preserve, 130 et seq., 134; com- 
pared with autocracv, 3; in New 
England, 53, 54 

Semmes, Admiral Raphael, 347 

Senators, direct election of, 391 

Separatists, the, 36 et seq. 

Servants, indentured, 20 

Seven Pines, battle of, 326 

Sevier, John, 127 

Seward, William H., as expansionist, 
423; Secretary of State, 314 

Shakespeare, William. 7, 8, 63 (fn.) ; 
origin of "The Tempest," 16 



Sharpsburg, battle of, 330 

Shays, Captain Daniel, rebellion of, 
188 

Sheridan, Philip H., defeats Early, 
344; sketch of, 342 

Sherman, General William T., sketch 
of, 333 

Shiloh, battle of, 321 

Shipping, New England, 119 

Shirley, Governor, of Massachu- 
setts, 100 

Silver coinage, agitation at 16 to 1, 
373 ; legislation, 367 

Sirams, William Gilmore, 81, 304 

Sims, Admiral W. S., 446 

" Six Nations," the, formation of, 
76 

Slavery, Colonial beginnings of, 21; 
connection of, with tariff and eco- 
nomic issues, 241, 244, 305; dis- 
cussion of, in Constitutional 
Convention, 192; early aspects of, 
117; early petitions against, 206; 
excluded from Northwest, 187 

Slave trade, African, development of, 
120. 216; first American partici- 
pation in, 61 ; opposed by Georgia, 
79 

Smith, Captain John, 13; autocratic 
rule, of, 16; explores New Eng- 
land coast, 32 

Smith, General Samuel, 233 

Smuggling, burning of the Gaspee, 
153; in Colonial days, 120 

Socialist partv, the, vote of, 384 
(fn.) 

iSomers, Admiral, 16 

South, the, early Colonial customs 
of, 115; influence of, 403 et seq.; 
on race issues, 406 et seq. 

South Carolina, beginnings of, 76; 
passes ordinance of secession, 308 

South Dakota admitted to LTnion, 
371 

Spain, attitude towards English 
colonies, 33 ; claims of, 25 ; settle- 
ments of, 24 et seq.; St. Augus- 
tine, 1, 28; Santa Fe, 2; war with, 
377 

Spoils, political, 220; system of, 
established, 260 

Spottsylvania Court House, 343 



INDEX 



527 



Sqiianto, Indian convert, 42 

Standish, Captain Miles, 38 

Stark, Colonel, 170 

" Star-Spangled Banner," the, writ- 
ing of, 233 

State rights, first opinions of, 197 

Steamboat, the, development of 242; 
invention of, 217 

Stephens, Alexander H., on secession, 
^ 311 (fn.) 

Steuben, General, 180 

Stevens, Thaddeus, on reconstruc- 
tion, 356 et seq. 

Stowe, Harriet Beecher, 291 

Streight, Colonel, A. D., 340 

Stuart, General J. E. B., 336 

Stuyvesant, Peter, 65 

Submarine warfare, 436 

Sumner-Brooks clash, 286 

Sumter, Thomas, 176, 180 



Taft, William Howard, election of. 
sketch of, 390 

Tariff, becomes sectional issue, 250 ; 
British Colonial, 141, (see, also, 
taxation and trade) ; connected 
with slavery dispute, 241, 244; 
debates on, 240; discussion of, in 
Constitutional Convention, 191; 
early debates on, under Constitu- 
tion, 200 ; interstate disputes con- 
cerning, 185; "of abominations," 
254; review of, 397 et seq. 

Tarleton, defeat of, 179 

Taxation without representation, 
discussion of, 133 

Taylor, Zacharv, in Mexican War, 
276; sketch of, 282 

Tea. tax on, 142 et seq., repeal of 
tax, 171 

Tecumseh, Indian chieftain, 231 

Tennessee, enters Union, 207 

Territoiy, the Northwest, 196 

Texas, opposition to annexation of. 
273; wins independence, 275 

Thanksgiving, the first, 44 

Tliomas, General George H., 340; 
sketch of. 346 

Thorpe, George, first teacher of 
Indians. 34 



Tilden, Samuel J., defeated for 
Presidency, 363 

Tilghman, Tench, ride of, 184 

Tippecanoe, battle of, 228 (fn.) 

Tobacco, first cultivation of, 17 

Toleration, religious, in Holland, 35 
(fn.), 36; in Maryland, 68; m 
Rhode Island, 56 

Tories, 182 

Townshend, Charles. 45 

Trade and transportation in modern 
times, 419 et seq.; restrictions on 
Colonial, 53 (fn.), 120, 130, 135, 
138; routes, change of, 257; routes 
of, in 15th century 22 et seq. 

Travel, Colonial, 124 

Treaty, with Barbary States, 221; 
with France, 168 et seq.; with 
Great Britain, 182, 210, 234, 385; 
with Panama, 387; with South- 
western Indians, 266; with Spain, 
381 

Trenton, battle of, 166 

Trusts, regulation of. 374, 394 

Tryon, Governor, 152 

Turks, capture Constantinople, 22 

Tuscaroras, the, migration north of, 
76 

Tyler, John, sketch of, 271; suc- 
ceeds to Presidency, 269 

Tyler, Moses Coit, on Colonial resis- 
"^tance, 139 (fn.) 

U 

"Uncle Tom's Cabin," 291 

Union, Colonial, Committees on 

Correspondence. 153 
Utah, admitted to Union. 372 



Valley Forge, 169 

Van Buren, Martin, election of, 264: 

sketch of, 265 
Vermont, enters Union, 207 
Vespucci, Amerigo, 26 
Vicksburg, capture of, 339 
Virginia, attitude of, toward Parlia- 
ment and taxation. 141, 156: bill 
of rights, 157, 164: champion of 
West, 197 ; naming of. 30 : plan 
for union, 190; settlement of, at 
JamestoAvn, 8 



528 



INDEX 



W 

Wages, dispute^ concerning, 50 

Waldseemuller, Martin, 26 

War, King George's, 97 ; " King " 
Philip's, 91; King William's, 95; 
of 1812, 227 et seq.; of Secession, 
315 et seq.; Queen Anne's, 96; 
Seven Years', 97 ; with Barbary 
States, 221; with Mexico. 275; 
with Ohio Indians, 208; with 
Sioux Indians, 363; with Spain, 
377; World, 435 et seq. 

Washington, admitted to Union, 371 

Washington City, capture of, 232 ; 
founding of, 206 

Washington, George, attitude on 
Colonial resistance, 141, 144; 
inauguration of, 199; made com- 
mander-in-chief, 159; part in 
French and Indian War, 99 et 
seq.; resigns commission, 183 

\Vashington, Martha, sketch' of, 200 

Washington, Colonel William, 179 

Wayne, Anthonv, 209 ; sketch of, 
174 

Webster, Daniel, death of, 282 ; fav- 
ors tariff and opposes nullifica- 
tion, 268; opposes protective 
tariff, 24 1 ; Secretary of State, 
269 ; sketch of, 263 

Wesley, John, 78 

West, growth of the, 265 ; influence 
of, 403 et seq.; on race issues, 406 
et seq.; winning of the, 107, 172 
et seq. 

West, Captain Francis, 14 

West Point, 177 

W^est Virginia, creation of, 319 

Wheeler, General Joseph, 347, 380 

Whigs, rise of the, 266 

White, Governor John, 31 

Whitefield, George, 79 

Whitney, Eli, 216 



William II, Emperor of Germany, 
compared with James I, 3 (fn. ) 

William and Mary, accession of, 
95; College, 121 

Williams, Roger, attitude towards 
Puritan government, 62; founds 
. Rhode Island, 56 

Wilmot Proviso, 279 (fn.) 

Wilson, Woodrow, election of, sketch 
of, 393 

Wingfield, Captain Edward-Maria, 
13 

Winslow, Anna Green, 128 

Winthrop, Governor John, 46; atti- 
tude towards Virginia, 150 (fn. ) ; 
sketch of, 47 ; views on govern- 
ment, 48, 62 

Winthrop, Margaret, 49 

Witchcraft prosecutions, 114 

Wolfe, General, 104 

Woman suffrage, review of, 417 

Wood, Leonard, 380; candidate for 
Republican nomination, 462 

Wriothesley, Henry, Earl of South- 
ampton, 8, 45 (fn.) 

" Writs of Assistance," 135 

Wyoming, admitted to Union, 371 



X 



X, Y, Z letters, 210 



Yamassee Indians, 76 

Yeardley, Sir George, 19 

Yellow fever, discovery of, cause of, 

383 
Yorktown, battle of, 181 



Zenger, John, on freedom of the 
press, 132 




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